Houthi Maritime Attacks
Gliterpill’s analysts are monitoring an escalating security threat involving the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group, whose leaders have targeted Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Tensions have escalated in the wake of the October 7th terrorist attack perpetrated against Israel by Hamas resulting in 1,200 fatalities and 6,900 injuries (per the Israeli prime minister’s office), as well as the ongoing conflict in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of at least 14,800 Palestinians (per the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza).
An announcement by the leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels on October 24th 2023 declared intentions to intensify attacks against Israel, including targeting Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. In October, the Houthis were suspected of launching missiles and drones across the Red Sea's shipping lanes. These developments have significantly escalated tensions in the region, especially following the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Recent Timeline of Events
On November 19th, a Bahamas-flagged cargo ship named Galaxy Leader was hijacked near Hodeida, a Yemeni port city close to Eritrea's coast. According to a maritime advisory from the security firm MS RISK, a Houthi representative confirmed the seizure, and reports from Hodeida indicate the ship was brought to Salif port. In a statement by the vessel’s owner, the ship was “illegally boarded by military personnel via a helicopter.” The ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
On November 25th, the Malta-flagged vessel, the CMA CGM Symi, was attacked by an Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean. The drone reportedly exploded, causing damage to the ship by not resulting in any injuries of the crew. The container ship is owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. According to an AP interview with the private intelligence firm, Ambrey, the attack is likely to have been targeted “due to the vessel’s Israeli affiliation…”
On November 26th, an Israeli-linked cargo ship, the Liberian-flagged Central Park, was briefly seized off the Gulf of Aden before the USS Mason Naval Destroyer intervened. In a statement from the U.S. Central Command, they described the situation as follows:
“On Nov. 26, the USS MASON (DDG 87), with allied ships from our coalition counter-piracy task force (TF 151), and associated aircraft responded to a distress call from the M/V CENTRAL PARK, a commercial vessel, that they were under attack by an unknown entity. Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded the release of the vessel. Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. (...)
At approximately 0141 on Nov. 27 Sanaa time, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS MASON (DDG 87) and M/V CENTRAL PARK. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships. (...) There was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident.
Although the attack was initially assumed to have been perpetrated by Houthi rebels since two ballistic missiles were fired from the Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, the attackers themselves are believed by the U.S. Pentagon to be Somali. Regardless of the motivations of the pirates in this case, the fact remains that the Houthis are likely to capitalize on any opportunity to target Israeli-linked ships and US military vessels.
This is not the U.S. Navy’s first interaction with the Houthi rebels. In October 2016, the U.S. Navy dispatched three ships after four rockets fired by Houthis hit a United Arab Emirates (UAE) auxiliary ship. The UAE is targeted by the Houthis due to their connections to the West and their involvement in the Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition in Yemen fighting the Houthis. The UAE has also been provided support by the United States.
This is also not the first time that Houthi rebels have been identified as a threat to shipping in the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea. In 2018, MS Risk, a private security risk management firm, published several reports on their “Risk Blog” detailing the Houthi threat to shipping in the region. In January, 2018, Houthi rebels “threatened to block the Red Sea shipping lane if the Saudi-led coalition continued its push north…” The report noted that the most likely target would be the Bab-al-Mandab Strait, as it provides the most strategic chokepoint likely to be targeted by the Houthis. The Houthis have demonstrated a high degree of capability in targeting the vital shipping lane through means of naval mines, drones, and ballistic missiles launched from rebel-held areas.
However, with the more recent attacks–especially the November 19 seizure of the Galaxy Leader which employed Iranian tactics, Iranian intelligence, and highly-trained military individuals–there are clear indications that they have dramatically increased their capabilities. Ambrey, a private intelligence firm, was quoted as stating that the “Iranian-style vessel seizure” represented a dramatic change in sophistication that showed a “significant increase in the Houthis’ capability to disrupt merchant shipping.”
Abdulmalik Al-Ajri, a member of the Sanaa negotiating delegation on behalf of the Houthis, claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that “Regarding the announced acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden by the United States, the statements issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces (the Houthis) are clear that their maritime operations only target hostile Israeli ships.” But this statement loses credibility given the escalating acts toward Israeli and American military drones and ships in October, as well as the fact that ballistic missiles were fired toward the USS Mason following their intervention in the seizure of an Israeli-linked ship in November.
Indeed, the private insurance industry has noted that none of the ships that have been targeted by the Houthis were explicitly “Israeli” ships–they flew flags from other countries and even lacked Israeli crew members. The ships appear to have been targeted because of their ownership by Israeli individuals, but Skytek’s head of Marine, Capt. Gabriel Zevri, was quoted as stating that insurance underwriters note that they can “no longer differentiate the risk” by focusing on the flags the ships sail under, as the more recent attacks appear to be motivated by the “domicile of the ownership and management of the vessel.” He further argues that although the current threats appear to be directed at ships “linked to the Israel flag or ownership,” the “non-state actor could potentially expand to ships calling to Israel ports, or random international flagships.”
Background: The Houthis, Iran, and Hamas
The Houthis are part of a minority Zaydi Shiite movement heavily rumored to be backed by Iran. Shiites are the second largest of the two main sects of Islam; according to a 2010 Pew Research projection, they are expected to make up between 10-13% of the overall Muslim population by 2030. Within that 10-13%, “...Zaydis make up around eight percent of the world's 70 million Shiites,” making them a much smaller minority within a minority. The Zaydis “believe that only descendants of the Prophet Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, have the right to lead the Muslim Community as imams.”
The Houthi Movement originated in the early 1990s in opposition to the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic, in large part as a response to the financial and religious influence of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have been fighting Yemen's Sunni-majority government since 2004, with significant support from Iran. They led a rebellion and took over the Yemeni Capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and by 2016 progressed and managed to seize control over large parts of North Yemen. After multiple failed ceasefires, the United Nations-brokered ceasefire in April 2022 provided “the most substantial pause in fighting” since 2014, and led some to begin hoping for “durable peace” in the region. The ceasefire remains in effect in spite of the heightened tensions that have emerged following the reignition of the Israel-Hamas conflict in fall of 2023.
The Houthis are deeply anti-Semitic, specifically anti-Israel. Their views are straightforward, “God is great, Death to America, death to Israel, damnation to the Jews, victory to Islam.” Notably, the Houthis are unique in their specific targeting of all Jews in their slogans. They added to Iran’s standard “death to America, death to Israel” to include a statement “cursing” or “damning” Jews in general. In the Houthi official doctrine, they make an argument for genocide against the Jews. In the years 2007 to 2009, many Yemeni Jews fled to Israel as Houthi rebels gained more power in the region. There was a rise in violence in and around the capital Sanaa, with a number of Jews being forced out of Al Salem by Houthi rebels as they fought for power, with threats to kill those still living in Al Salem if they did not leave within 10 days.
In more recent times, the Houthis have further cemented their anti-Israel stance by adjusting their approach to align their views with–and to gain support from–Hamas. In a TV appearance on October 10th, the leader of the Houthi movement Abdulmalek al-Houthi expressed solidarity with Hamas. In his statement, he endorsed the October 7th attack on Israel.
This was closely followed by multiple attacks by the Houthis. On October 31st the Houthis launched a failed missile and drone attack that targeted the port city Eilat, an Israeli Red Sea tourist resort. On November 8th Houthis claimed to have downed a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone and launched missiles towards Israel. The recent targeting of Israeli-linked ships is a display of the growing threat of the Houthis both in Yemen and the surrounding areas.
The actions of the Houthis are driven both by their anti-Israel and anti-Semitic ideology, which they administered heavily as a political tool during the early 2000s in order to gain more support from Iran, as well as address domestic political concerns. Iran, for whom the Houthis are considered to be a proxy, has denied involvement in attacks against maritime vessels, in spite of evidence suggesting the seizures happened with assistance from the Iranian surveillance and special operations ship, Behshad, which is “at a semi-permanent anchorage in the Red Sea”. Iran greatly benefits from any targeting of Israeli assets, and some analysts have noted that it could signal a shift in Iranian involvement in the geopolitical space. However, others argue that the main purpose of launching attacks may be to gain further domestic support, as well as the support of allies of Hamas.
As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, the Houthis are further fueling tensions in the Middle East. Yahya Sare’e, spokesperson of the Yemeni Armed Forces, led by the Houthis, stated on X (Formerly Twitter) that “The Yemeni armed forces will continue to carry out their military operations until the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank stops.” By framing themselves as protectors of the Palestinian people due to their ongoing attacks against the Israelis, they “may be trying to present the group as the dominant force in Yemen willing to challenge Israel”, thus helping them to “outmanoeuvre local rivals and unite the Yemeni public behind the cause of Palestinian liberation” when other Arab governments have failed to act. Although the Houthi movement was born out of an extreme religious sub-sect of Shia Islam, it is now grounding itself in a political space to gain more influence in the region.
Despite the Houthi-led Yemeni Armed Forces making their intentions clear they cannot realistically fulfill their goals in their declaration of an offensive operation against Israel due to the small size of their military. This does not mean that the threat they pose should not be taken seriously. With the support the Houthis are receiving from Iran, including provisions of advanced weaponry, they can not only continue, but escalate their attacks against Israeli targets. Their adoption of vessel seizure and hostage-taking “provides the Houthis with a negotiation lever” similar to that utilized by Hamas with their taking of hundreds of hostages during their October 7th terrorist attack.
The targeted attacks on oil tankers and infrastructures by the Houthis cause disruptions to regional trade and security. Their military weaponry and capabilities have grown in recent years, along with the sophistication of their tactics:
The Houthis have been able to fly this year a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet over the capital, Sanaa, during a military parade, along with a Northrop F-5 Tiger combat aircraft at another. A Houthi parade also saw Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopters flying through the sky — the same helicopter used in Sunday’s attack. A Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis had targeted Yemen’s air force with airstrikes at the start of the war and the Houthis have yet to explain how they got these aircraft flying again.
Given their increase in sophistication in terms of weapons and tactics, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas presents another issue: The use of U.S. Navy assets to deter attacks has shifted to the Gulf of Oman, leaving fewer assets in the Red Sea to act as a deterrent against the Houthis.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower left the Red Sea on November 4th and has been situated in the Gulf of Oman to deter Israel’s Arab neighbors from joining the conflict, a distance of roughly 1,300 miles.
The Eurasia Group recently suggested that, “[s]mall-scale attacks on U.S. forces and Israel by Iran’s allies throughout the region suggest Tehran is willing to turn up the heat in a limited fashion, but unless the attacks cause U.S. casualties or significant damage, a major U.S. response is unlikely.” If the trend of hostage taking continues, as well as the movement of one of the U.S.’s biggest deterrence assets away from the region, this result becomes more likely. Concerns related to loss of life notwithstanding, increased conflict may occur as well due to the risks to the economy. As noted by the Soufan Center, “Houthi interference with commercial shipping through the Strait is almost certain to trigger U.S. intervention due to the political and potentially economic implications.”
As the Houthi continue their targeted attacks on Israel and ships in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world our team at Glitterpill continues to monitor the threats to maritime and offshore security. Please do not hesitate to contact us to learn more about how our monitoring and insights can help mitigate the threats posed to you or your company by groups tied to violent extremist and terrorist activities globally.
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