2024-03-16 01:02:07
Palestinian sources reported to Agence France-Presse on Friday evening that a rare meeting was held last week between leaders of the Hamas movement and the Yemeni Houthi group, to discuss “mechanisms for coordinating resistance actions” against Israel.
One of these sources, requesting that his name not be published, said, “An important meeting was held last week in which senior leaders from the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine movements participated, with the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (the official name of the Houthi group).”
He added, “During this meeting, coordination mechanisms between these factions regarding resistance actions in the next stage were discussed.”
According to a second source, who also requested that his name not be published, the Houthi group confirmed during the meeting that it “will continue its operations in the Red Sea against ships heading to the enemy state (Israel), to support the Palestinian resistance.”
The source added that the meeting also discussed “the complementary role of the Houthis with the Palestinian factions, especially with the possibility of Israel invading the city of Rafah,” south of the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the Houthi leader announced the expansion of the scope of attacks on ships linked to Israel, to include those that avoid crossing the Red Sea and sail in the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope in the far south of the African continent.
Since November 19, the Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, which they say are linked to Israel or heading to its ports.
The Houthis place their attacks within the framework of “supporting the Gaza Strip”, which has been witnessing a war waged by Israel since the seventh of last October, to defeat the Hamas movement.
The Houthi attacks prompted many shipping companies to divert their ships via the Cape of Good Hope, prolonging the journey between Asia and Europe for at least a week, and increasing the cost of transportation.
In an attempt to deter the Houthis and “protect” maritime navigation, American and British forces have launched strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen since January 12.
Following the Western strikes, the Houthis began targeting American and British ships, considering that the interests of these two countries had become “legitimate targets.”
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