Yemeni Houthi group announces enforcement of Israeli shipping ban in Red Sea, surrounding waters

The Yemeni Houthi group announced Wednesday the implementation of a ban on Israeli navigation in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden in response to Israel's blockade on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.

Group leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned in a televised speech that "any Israeli vessel attempting to pass through these waters will be targeted," as he called the move necessary because of Israel's continued blockade and closure of crossings, which he said is to starve Palestinians.

He condemned the "starvation of 2 million Palestinians in Gaza" as a war crime and a crime against humanity, and criticized the "Arab world's silence and inaction" on the escalation and forced displacement, which he described as a "grave mistake and a failure to uphold major responsibilities."

Al-Houthi asserted that "Israel's aggressive measures are backed by U.S. support and Arab and Islamic complicity."

Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday, in the latest move to tighten a stifling blockade on the enclave despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese denounced the move as a “genocide alert,” and said without electricity, there is no clean water.

It followed another Israeli decision to stop humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, prompting warnings from local and human rights groups of a return to widespread hunger for the Palestinian population.

Mohammad Thabet, a spokesman of the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, said Tuesday that Israel provided the enclave with just 5 megawatts of electricity since November before a recent decision to cut power to the enclave.

Hamas said Israel's closure of Gaza crossings and blocking food and medical supplies are “a grave breach” of the ceasefire deal and “a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”

It urged the UN, humanitarian organizations and Arab states to act swiftly to halt the “barbaric crimes,” lift the blockade and hold Israeli leaders accountable before international justice.

More than 48,500 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault was paused under the ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, which took hold in January.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.