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Houthi armed forces issue ultimatum: will restart attacks on Red Sea merchant ships

Mar 11,2025

Last week, the Houthis in Yemen forcefully dropped a "blockbuster bomb," issuing an unmistakable ultimatum to Israel.

In a televised speech, Abdul - Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi armed forces, warned emphatically that Israel must, by Tuesday, Reopen access to humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, or they will not hesitate to resume their attacks on passing ships and plunge the Red Sea once again into waves.

Back on 2 March, the Israeli Government brazenly announced that it had suspended all humanitarian aid distribution to the Gaza Strip because Hamas had rejected a ceasefire extension proposed by the United States Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff. That decision certainly set off the crisis.

Looking back, from late 2023 through the whole of last year, more than 100 merchant ships were attacked in this area, and the shipping industry suffered significantly.

And so far this year, thanks to an initial peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis have rarely hit the "attack button," and the Red Sea has enjoyed a brief period of calm. Now, however, the situation has changed dramatically and the calm has been broken once again.

Ambrey, a British maritime security expert, advised merchant ships to immediately check whether they fit the Houthi attack "portrait" and re-evaluate the risk of navigation through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. After all, once the Houthis do resume their attacks, Red Sea passage will surely return to the "darkest hour."

This comes after data from the Suez Canal Authority showed that since early February, 47 vessels had been forced to re-route the Suez canal.

Osama Rabie, chief executive of the Canal Authority, had been optimistic that as long as the ceasefire in Gaza did not stop, shipping traffic in the Suez Canal could gradually return to normal by the end of March and be fully revived by mid-year.

Now, however, the Houthis' ultimatum leaves all this in doubt, with the world holding its breath as the fate of future Red Sea shipping rests with Israel.

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