Yemen's Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what they called the fourth phase of their military operations against Israel.

In a televised statement, the Houthis' military spokesperson warned that ships would be attacked if companies ignored their warnings, regardless of their destination.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries, if they want to avoid this escalation, to pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip," he added.

Since Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships they deem as bound or linked to Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.

In May, the U.S. announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch condemned the Houthi rebels for deadly attacks that sank two commercial vessels this month, calling them violations of the laws of war.

The Houthis struck the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in the Red Sea, part of a campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of having links to Israel, launched over the Gaza war.

The attacks were "violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes", Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding it found "no evidence that the ships were military targets".

"They deliberately attacked commercial vessels that could clearly be identified as civilian," the New York-based group said, adding that "detaining rescued crew members is also prohibited".

Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi justified the attacks, saying both ships belonged to companies serving Israeli ports.

But HRW said the ships had no connection to Israel and were not heading there.