Houthis Indicate End to Red Sea and Israel Attacks Following US-Brokered Gaza Cease-Fire

The Iran-aligned group signaled a pause in hostilities but warned it would resume attacks if Israel renewed operations in Gaza.

A screen grab shows plumes of smoke rising from what is said to be a Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier the MV Magic Seas. Houthi Media Center/Handout via Reuters

The Houthi terrorist group has signalled it has stopped military operations against Israel and shipping in the Red Sea, one month into the U.S.-brokered cease-fire in Gaza.

In an undated letter to the leadership of the Al-Qassam Brigades—published on Nov. 9 by Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV on its Telegram channel—Maj. Gen. Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, chief of staff of Yemen’s Houthi military, reaffirmed the group’s support for the terrorist group Hamas.

Al-Madani said that the Houthis are closely monitoring the developments in the region and warned that if Israel resumes “its aggression on Gaza,” the group will restart military operations targeting Israel.

“We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression on Gaza, we will return to our military operations in the depth of the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate a ban on Israeli navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea,” the letter said.

The Houthis have not formally confirmed that their campaign in the region has come to an end.

The Epoch Times contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment but received no reply by publication time.

Both Israel and Hamas remain committed to the Gaza cease-fire agreement, reached on Oct. 10, but Israel maintains that it reserves the right to defend itself against any national security threat, including that posed by Houthi terrorists.

Israel and the Iran-aligned Houthis, based in Yemen, have exchanged several attacks since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023.

The Houthis cite solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and have previously said their attacks since November 2024 on ships in the Red Sea—a vital trade route connecting the Suez Canal to the Arabian Sea—have been in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Their military activity in the Red Sea, however, has also affected vessels with no clear links to Israel, disrupting shipping in a key route for global trade and energy shipments.

In response to the Houthis’ targeting of Red Sea commerce, U.S. President Donald Trump in March ordered widespread strikes against Houthi terrorists, promising the use of “overwhelming lethal force” to restore navigational freedom in the region.

Series of Attacks

In a recent airstrike against senior Houthi members, the IDF said on Oct. 16 that it eliminated the group’s military chief of staff, Muhammed al-Ghamari.

“His elimination delivers a severe blow to the Houthi command structure, responsible for hundreds of attacks against Israel during the war,” the IDF said in a statement.

In the letter, al-Madani said the Houthis received condolences from Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, over the death of al-Ghamari, adding the two groups were united in confronting Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened in September to hit the Houthis “sevenfold” for attacks targeting Israel.

The warning came after a drone attack that struck the Israeli city of Eilat on Sept. 24. The IDF spokesperson said at the time that the attack wounded civilians, adding that Israel would “continue to act in response to the Houthi regime’s attacks” on its population.

“The Houthi terrorists refuse to learn from Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza—and will learn the hard way. Whoever harms Israel will be harmed sevenfold,” Katz said in response to the attack.

His remarks also followed an Israeli strike on the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital city of Sanaa on Aug. 28, which killed Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, the prime minister of the Houthi-organized government.

According to the IDF, he was killed “along with additional senior officials of the Houthi terrorist regime.”

The series of attacks between Israel and the Houthis also saw the terrorists fire a missile toward Israel that landed near Ben Gurion Airport on May 4.