Yemen's Huthis keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal

YEMEN’S Huthi rebels will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official said, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.

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A day after the Huthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official said that Israel was excluded from the deal.

“The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Huthi political bureau, said.

“Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships,” he said.

The Huthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the US and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.