Yemen to Step Up Naval Operations in Indian Ocean: Sayyed al-Houthi

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Yemeni Armed Forces - Military Media

25 Apr 2024 18:44

The leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah addresses a number of regional and international developments in a speech on Thursday.

The Yemeni Ansar Allah movement is working on reinforcing the country's reach toward the Indian Ocean, seeking to cut off the Israeli-affiliated ships from sailing on the Cape of Good Hope route or toward the Red Sea, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi revealed on Thursday. 

The Yemeni front will remain open and the Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) operations in support of Palestine will continue, Sayyed al-Houthi stressed during a speech in which he addressed the latest regional developments. 

The leader of the Ansar Allah movement emphasized that the expansion of the YAF's operations into the Indian Ocean was never taken into account by American, British, and Israeli authorities, or what Sayyed al-Houthi refers to as the "Triad of Evil." 

Initially, Yemen's military began supporting the Palestinian people and their Resistance by targeting Israeli occupation forces in long-range attacks, via barrages of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and one-way attack drones. 

However, answering the directives of Sayyed al-Houthi and the calls of the people of Yemen who participated in weekly million-man marches, the YAF expanded its operations to target Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, a critical maritime route. This led to detrimental effects on Israeli maritime operations, nearly putting the Israeli-occupied Eilat port out of business. 

Later, following the intervention of a US-led naval coalition force in the region, the Yemeni Armed Forces expanded their operations to target hostile US and British ships in the aforementioned waterways. As the Israeli genocide of Palestinian people intensified and Israeli ships reverted to the use of the Cape of Good Hope route, which circles the African continent, to reach the eastern Midterennean, Sayyed al-Houthi announced that the YAF will begin to target Israeli ships in the Indian Ocean, essentially working to cut off the only remaining route linking the occupation to East Asia. 

YAF's operations in numbers

In his speech, Sayyed al-Houthi released the latest tally of Yemeni operations in 202 days since the war on Gaza began. 

He revealed that in the aforementioned timeframe, the YAF targeted 102 vessels of different origins and types. On average, this means that the YAF has targeted nearly 1 ship every 2 days. However, it is worth noting that the Yemeni Armed Forces launched their operations in late November of 2023, which would award them a slightly higher average than announced. 

Sayyed al-Houthi said that the American-British-led alliance failed to achieve its goal of protecting shipping lanes in the Arabian and Red seas, despite the deployment of large forces and continuous and intense monitoring operations over Yemen. 

The Resistance leader pointed to the confession of the General Director of Eilat Port, built on the usurped Palestinian village of Um al-Rashrash, Gideon Golber, who labeled the facilities at the Eilat Port as "non-functional" on March 21 this year. 

Sayyed al-Houthi also said that the operations have led to a 22% downturn in Israeli exports and a more than 40% decrease in import numbers, due to the siege imposed by Yemen on the criminal Israeli occupation. 

Concurrently, the operations have resulted in an 80% decrease in the number of US ships sailing in the Red Sea. 

Gaza is defeating 'Israel', US

On the Palestinian Resistance's ongoing battle against Israeli occupation forces, Sayyed al-Houthi said that the revival of rocket launching operations, targeting Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, is "clear evidence of the cohesion" of Palestinian Resistance fighters and the effectiveness of their operations. 

He also pointed to the large number of equipment and personnel losses incurred by the occupation, saying that this defeat encompasses both the "Israeli enemy and its American partner."

Sayyed al-Houthi shed light on the "reverse migration" of Israeli settlers, putting the phenomenon in stark contrast with the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. 

"The contemplation of half of the Zionists of immigration and leaving Palestine reflects the existential crisis and is an admission on their part they are merely usurping occupiers," Sayyed al-Houthi emphasized. 

Hezbollah's operations are precise and effective

Sayyed al-Houthi also addressed the operations of other supporting fronts, including the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah from South Lebanon. 

He said that military activities on the Northern Front are escalating and that "Hezbollah in its crucial and direct front" is conducting operations that are "precise, purposeful, and have an (effective) impact on the Israeli enemy."

"In enemy circles, voices on the extent of the dilemma that they are experiencing in confronting Hezbollah are rising," Sayyed al-Houthi stressed. 

"Hundreds of thousands of usurping occupiers are facing a huge problem, as they fear living in northern Palestine," the Resistance leader added. 

"No Israeli means were effective in stopping the [Hezbollah] or dissuading it from continuing its major and great role in supporting the people of Palestine," Sayyed al-Houthi explained.

Sayyed al-Houthi salutes protesters in the US

"The conscious (popular) movements toward Palestine are growing and expanding," the Resistance leader said. 

He specifically pointed to the protests taking place in universities across the United States in support of Gaza. 

"American authorities are dealing with protesters against the genocide crimes in Gaza with full severity, affirming that the official behavior toward protests in American universities is [unacceptable] and disregards all [alleged] norms," Sayyed al-Houthi added. 

In this context, he stressed that American authorities "do not respect their laws, constitution, or any principles they raise and boast about, like democracy, freedom of opinion, and expression."

He also noted that Washington "cannot tolerate hearing voices from within the United States calling for an end to crimes against the Palestinian people."