The leader of Yemen's Houthis, Abdul Malik
al-Houthi, said on Thursday 14 Mar the group's operations targeting vessels
will escalate to prevent Israel-linked ships from passing through the Indian
Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.
"Our main battle
is to prevent ships linked to the Israeli enemy from passing through not only
the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but also the Indian Ocean
towards the Cape of Good Hope. This is a
major step and we have begun to implement our operations related to it,"
al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
The Iran-aligned group
has been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what
they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war with
Hamas in Gaza.
Around 34 Houthi members have been killed since the
group began the attacks, al-Houthi added.
Months of Houthi
attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to
re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and
stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider
Middle East.
The turmoil from
Israel's war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has spilled over to some
extent into other parts of the Middle East. Apart from the Houthi attacks on
vital shipping lanes, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group has traded fire
with Israel along the Israel-Lebanon border and pro-Iran Iraqi militia have
attacked bases that host U.S. forces.
The United States and Britain have launched strikes
on Houthi targets in Yemen and redesignated the militia as a terrorist group.