Houthis: If Israel does not stop "starving" Gaza, we will escalate, without limit

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi released a statement tonight (Wednesday) threatening to escalate attacks on Israel is humanitarian aid was not renewed at once.

In his statement, released on Houthi official media, al-Houthi said that due to the United States encouraging Israeli actions against Gaza, the Houthis had no choice but to work towards "deterrence" of the enemy.

To that end, he said that if Israel did not cease to "starve" the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and immediately allow in humanitarian aid, the Houthi declaration of war on Israeli shipping in the Red and Arabian Seas would just be the first step. Al-Houthi said that "all options" would be on the table for further escalation, presumably including a return to direct missile and drone attacks on Israel.

The original decision to relaunch a war on Israeli shipping following the ceasefire comes following the threat by Houthi leaders that if Israel did not immediately resume the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, it would end its ceasefire and renew attacks on Israel. At least according to Saree's statement, the Houthis are avoiding direct attacks on Israel for the moment.

Since the Houthis began their war on Israel shortly after October 7, their attacks have focused on "Israeli shipping" in a broad sense - since most container ships involve multiple owners and operators, this means that even ships with tenuous or minimal connections to Israel can be a target of Houthi missiles and drones.

Following the formation of a US-led naval coalition to protect Red Sea shipping entitled Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Houthis have also targeted ships with any connection to the United States or the United Kingdom.

The IDF has been on high alert, with both the Air Force and the anti-missile defenses bracing for possible missile and drone attacks on Israel from Houthi-held areas in Yemen. The Houthis began launching such attacks soon after they declared the Red Sea closed to Israeli shipping when they started the war, attacks which were usually intercepted but which sometimes broke through, causing casualties and physical damage.

Prior to the ceasefire in the south, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Israeli people for "patience" in dealing with the Houthis, as the IDF was at the time focused on the far more pressing threats of Hamas, Hezbollah, and pro-Iran forces in the north. Despite this, the IDF launched four increasingly intensive attacks against the Houthis, and the army says that there's much more where that came from.