Israel Calls for 'International Coalition' to Counter Houthi Attacks on Ships in Red Sea
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday called for forming an international coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen. "The Houthis have crossed a red line in the Red Sea," Herzog said on social media platform X. "The US-led international activities against the Houthi terror-pirates must be bolstered and strengthened, in the form of a truly international coalition," he added. Israel threatened on Tuesday to use force in dealing with Houthi rebels amid threats against ships sailing to Israeli ports. The threat was made after Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker off Yemen as it sailed to Israel. Last week, the Pentagon said that the US was holding talks with its allies to establish a maritime task force to protect ships in the Red Sea.
Against the background of the intensifying threat of the Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack ships passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait towards Israel, the Port of Eilat reports a sharp decrease in the scope of activity and a drop of more than 80% in revenue within a month. In an interview with Calcalist, the director general of the port, Gideon Golber, said that following the escalating crisis, the port management will ask the state for compensation for the loss of some of the revenue. He added, "Since the Houthis announced the blocking of Bab-el-Mandeb, ships are afraid to pass through on their way to Eilat and choose a route that bypasses the entire African continent in a way that extends the duration of the trip by about 20 days." Houthi have vowed to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea as long the Israeli war on Gaza continues.
A senior official from Yemen's Houthis has warned cargo ships in the Red Sea to avoid traveling toward Israel and the occupied territories after the Iran-aligned group claimed an attack on a commercial tanker earlier in the day. Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen's Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, said ships should avoid heading towards Israel and that any that pass Yemen should keep their radios turned on and quickly respond to Houthi attempts at communication. He also warned cargo ships against "falsifying their identity" or raising flags different from that of the country of the shipowner.
Israeli tanks and warplanes bombarded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing dozens of Palestinians, and US President Joe Biden warned Israel it was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians in its war against Hamas. Biden said Israel now has support from "most of the world," including the US and European Union. "But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he told a campaign fundraising event in Washington. Israel's assault on Gaza has killed at least 18,205 Palestinians and wounded nearly 50,000 since Oct. 7, according to the Gaza health ministry. The Gaza health ministry said that diseases and illnesses, including diarrhea, food poisoning, meningitis, respiratory infections, chickenpox, and scabies began spreading.
