• Fighting erupts between government forces and the militia in Yemen
• The Houthis claim that their attacks are in support of Palestine and that they are only targeting Israeli ships or ships traveling to Israel

Saeed Al-Batati

AL-MUKALLA: Shipping operators are reportedly posting statements on marine monitoring websites declaring that they have no connection to Israel before entering the Red Sea to avoid their vessels being targeted by the Houthi militia in Yemen.

The Houthis have said that they will not target ships passing through the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab, or the Gulf of Aden so long as they provide early notice of their destinations or indicate on maritime traffic monitoring sites that they have no relation with Israel.

Arab News has seen at least two ships docked in Djibouti that have posted on marinetraffic.com that they have “no relation to Israel” before heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea.

Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship and conducted more than two dozen drone and missile attacks against commercial and naval ships traveling through the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis claim that their attacks are in support of Palestine and that they are only targeting Israeli ships or ships traveling to Israel in an attempt to force Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.

The US has responded to the Houthis’ attacks and their attempts to blockade the Red Sea by forming a coalition of marine task forces. America and the UK have subsequently conducted dozens of strikes on military targets in the Houthi-controlled part of Yemen. The US has also reclassified the Houthis as a terrorist group, three years after removing them from its list due to pressure from various international organizations.

US Central Command claims to have destroyed three anti-ship missiles targeted at the Red Sea on Friday evening before they could be launched. Media reports said that the Friday raids targeted a Houthi military base in the western province of Hodeidah.

On Friday, the Houthis declared that they had fired missiles against the US-owned Chem Ranger ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Meanwhile, fighting has erupted between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis in the provinces of Taiz, Joud, Marib, and Dhale in recent days. The Yemeni army said on Saturday that the Houthis had renewed attacks on its forces west of Taiz, a day after launching a major offensive on government troops in the same region.

Despite a considerable decline in hostilities in Yemen since April 2022, when the UN-brokered ceasefire went into force, the Houthis continue to fire missiles and drones and assault government-controlled towns in Taiz, Marib, Dhale, Hodeidah, and Marib.

Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni army official in Taiz, told Arab News that the Houthis had launched “the biggest attack” on government troops in several months on Friday morning, leaving two Yemeni soldiers and three Houthis dead.

“The Houthis used drones and other weaponry to bombard the national army positions before attacking our forces on the ground. We managed to force them back while also destroying their military equipment,” Al-Baher said, adding that the army had also received intelligence that the Houthis are mustering their troops, installing heavy equipment, constructing trenches, and erecting sand barriers in apparent preparation for further assaults on government forces defending the besieged city.

The army released a statement on Friday saying that it had shot down two Houthi drones northwest of Hajjah.