Houthis announce the start of a new phase of escalation
Yemen Monitor/News Room
The Houthi group announced on Friday the start of what they described as “the fourth phase of escalation,” which includes targeting ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea.
The military spokesperson for the armed group, Yahya Saree, said in a statement that their forces “will target all ships heading to Israeli ports in any area reached by our hands, regardless of their nationality or destination.”
He also confirmed that his group will impose comprehensive sanctions on all ships belonging to companies associated with Israeli ports if the occupation forces launch a ground operation in Rafah.
He added, “If the Israeli enemy launches an aggressive operation in Rafah, we will impose sanctions on all ships associated with the occupied ports, and we will prevent ships of companies associated with these ports from passing through our operations area regardless of their nationality and destination.”
Saree said that their group “is following the developments of the battle in Gaza due to the continued Israeli and American aggression and the serious preparation for an aggressive military operation against Rafah area… as well as the proposal presented to the resistance, in which the enemy wants to extract the prisoners’ card without a permanent ceasefire.”
Saree’s statements come hours after the leader of the group, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, announced on Thursday evening that his group is “preparing for a fourth round of escalation” if the Israeli war on Gaza continues