Ansarallah has resumed its ban on Israeli ships in the Red Sea after Israel failed to meet the deadline to allow aid into Gaza.
The Yemeni Ansarallah movement announced on Tuesday the resumption of its ban on the passage of Israeli ships following the expiration of the deadline it had given Israel to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.
This was stated in a video message by the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, on his X platform account. He confirmed that their forces “are resuming the ban on the passage of all Israeli ships in the designated operational area, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden.”
Saree explained that this decision follows the expiration of the deadline granted by the group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, to mediators “to push and pressure the Israeli enemy to reopen the crossings and allow aid into the Gaza Strip.”
The statement emphasized that “any Israeli vessel attempting to violate this ban will be targeted within the declared operational area” and that “the ban will remain in effect until crossings into the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid, food, and medicine are allowed in.”
🔴 LIVE: Yemeni army spokesman Yahya Saree making statement. https://t.co/f75ARuCRaB
— Live Stream (@video_streamz) March 11, 2025
Palestinian Reactions
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement welcomed Ansarallah’s decision to “resume operations against ships belonging to the Zionist entity,” describing it as “a bold step aimed at pressuring the entity and its backers to reopen the crossings and allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.”
Similarly, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas praised Ansarallah’s earlier decision to give Israel a four-day grace period before resuming naval operations if it continued to block aid from entering Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas described this move as “an extension of the support and backing Ansarallah has provided throughout the war of extermination in Gaza” and urged the international community and the United Nations to take urgent action to stop the starvation crime being perpetrated by the occupation in Gaza.
Ansarallah Gives Israel Four Days to Allow Gaza Aid or Face New Operations
Four-Day Deadline
Last Friday, Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi announced that they were granting the Israeli occupation four days to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. He warned that if Israel failed to do so, the group would resume attacks in the Red Sea.
Al-Houthi stressed that “the Israeli enemy has shirked its obligations regarding the humanitarian file,” adding that Hamas leaders had fulfilled their commitments under the agreement.
Prior to the ceasefire in Gaza, Ansarallah carried out dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea “linked to Israel” as part of what they called “support and assistance” to the Palestinian people in Gaza. They also launched missiles and drones toward occupied Palestinian territories.
The group’s ultimatum came just days after the United States redesignated it as a “foreign terrorist organization” and imposed sanctions on seven of its senior leaders.
(PC, AJA)
