2024-01-10 17:28:00
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge once morest Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
The attacks have forced some of the world’s largest shipping and oil companies to suspend sea voyages and prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to supply warships to the region in a bid to deter further attacks.
While (through a combination of geography and technology) the Houthis may lack the capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah, their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea may inflict a different kind of punishment on Israel and its allies.
The global economy has received a series of reminders regarding the importance of this sea strait, which stretches from the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen to the Suez Canal in northern Egypt, and along the which flows 12% of world trade, including 30% of global container traffic.
In 2021, a ship called the Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the vital trade artery for nearly a week (holding up to $10 billion in cargo a day) and causing disruptions to global supply chains that lasted much longer. .
There are fears that Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial ships, which have occurred almost daily since December 9, might cause an even greater shock to the global economy.
The Houthis say they will only relent when Israel allows food and medicine into Gaza; Their attacks might be aimed at inflicting economic suffering on Israel’s allies in the hope that they will pressure it to stop bombing the enclave.
Ships transit the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10, in Ismailia, Egypt. (Photo: Sayed Hassan/Getty Images).
Fueling international tensions
Championing the Palestinian cause might also be an attempt to gain legitimacy at home and in the region as they seek to control northern Yemen, which they have dominated since the start of a bloody civil war nearly a decade ago.
It might also give them an advantage over their Arab adversaries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whom they accuse of being lackeys of the United States and Israel.
But there are also concerns that the attacks might draw more countries into the conflict.
In December, the United States announced a multinational naval task force consisting of the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Norway and others, to “meet the challenge posed by this non-state actor” that “threatens the free flow of trade, puts endangering innocent people and sailors and violates international law.”
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