The leader of the Houthi rebels in Yemen warned Tuesday that they are ready to mount an attack on Israel if the war in Gaza resumes after a recent breakdown of the fragile cease-fire agreement.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the chief of the Iran-backed terror group, said they would go back to attacking the Jewish state and wreaking havoc in the Red Sea at the first sign of conflict in the Gaza Strip, after Israel warned that war would resume if Hamas doesn’t release more hostages by noon Saturday.
“Our fingers are on the trigger, and we are ready to immediately escalate against the Israeli enemy if it returns to escalation in the Gaza Strip,” al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
The rebel leader mocked President Trump as a “fool” for giving a similar ultimatum as Israel to Hamas and for his controversial proposal to evacuate Gaza so that the US can take control of it.
Hamas shocked the world when it announced a pause to its Israeli-hostage exchanges Monday, accusing Israel of violating the terms of their cease-fire agreement by allegedly keeping aid from reaching northern Gaza.
The Houthis have remained loyal to their fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas, with the Yemen rebels launching assaults on Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, the month after the Palestinian Hamas terrorists infamously attacked Israel.
The Houthi attacks escalated to strikes on foreign commerce ships and military vessels, which caused a large-scale disruption in one of the largest trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli Defense Force has been put on high alert over the cease-fire troubles, with the military bolstering its forces in the Southern Command, which oversees the Gaza border.
“The reinforcements of troops and mobilization of reservists are being carried out in preparation for various scenarios,” the IDF said in a statement Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “intense fighting” will resume in Gaza if Hamas fails to release more hostages by 12 p.m. Saturday, as previously agreed to in the cease-fire deal.
So far, Hamas has freed 21 hostages, including American-Israeli Keith Siegel, who was kidnapped along with his wife, Aviva, when Hamas raided their home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023. Aviva was released in November 2023.
This first phase of the cease-fire deal calls for 12 more hostages to be released in the next three weeks.
There are 76 hostages remaining in Gaza — around 30 of whom are presumed dead, according to Israeli officials.
With Post wires
