A handout screen grab taken from a video released by the Houthis media center shows fire and smoke rising following Israeli airstrikes in the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, 20 July 2024. Photo courtesy of Houthis Media Center/EPA-EFE
Mohammed Abdulsalam, the head spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi movement, promised Sunday that there are “no red lines” in the response by the Yemeni armed faction to an attack carried out by the U.S.-backed Israel.
Israel sent F-15 jet fighters to strike the port city of Hodeidah, killing several people and injuring dozens of others, on Saturday. Advertisement
The situation has uniquely led the Houthis and the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which are two factions fighting each other amid Yemen’s decade-long civil war, to blast the “terrorist” attack in similar terms, a sign of possible Yemeni solidarity.
Abdulsalam, speaking to Al-Jazeera, said the Houthis would continue to attack Israel and would not abide by any rules of engagement in its response. His quotes were also carried by the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah network.
“The confrontation with the Zionist enemy will be open and without borders. We will not adhere to any rules of engagement with the Zionist enemy,” Abdulsalam said. “There are no red lines in our response to the Zionist aggression, and the Israelis must expect our response at every moment.” Advertisement
Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, the commander of the Houthi movement, said in a televised address that the Houthis “are happy with the direct battle with the Israeli enemy.”
“The Israeli enemy wants to portray to its angry and frightened audience from the scenes of [Hodeidah strike] that it has accomplished a great achievement and dealt a painful blow to Yemen,” he said.
He criticized those who argue a talking point common in American and Israeli political circles that the Houthis are backed by Iran and that supporting Palestinians benefits Iran.
“The Israeli aggression against our country will contribute to a greater escalation of our operations against it and to the development of our capabilities as well,” he said. “The enemy will lose and incur more dangers upon itself.”
Yemen’s official Ministry of Public Health and Population condemned Israeli aggression against Yemen that targeted civilian facilities in Hodeidah.
“This aggression will not pass without a harsh and deterrent response,” the Yemeni Health Ministry said. “As a result of this terrorist aggression, 80 people were injured, some of whom suffered severe burns.”
The Yemeni Health Ministry said that the Israeli aggression “is being carried out in coordination with the United States” and “the complicity of some Arab countries that betrayed the Palestinian cause and opened their airspace to the Zionist aircraft to carry out its cowardly strikes.” Advertisement
“Yemen will remain free, dignified, and unbreakable, and a permanent thorn in the throat of the Zionists, Americans, and reactionary Arab regimes,” the Yemeni Health Ministry said.
“The Yemeni people, who have endured years of aggression and siege, cannot be defeated and will continue their struggle and fight without retreat.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has called on all parties to exercise restraint to prevent bringing further war to the region after the Israeli strike.
The Saudi position is complicated because it is an ally of the United States in backing the government amid the civil war, in opposition to the Houthis.
However, Saudi Arabia has not yet normalized relations with Israel and has vocalized support for Palestinians amid the war in Gaza — which is at the root of the current tensions between Israel and the Houthis.
