The Washington Post said that the United States is trying to contain the expansion of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and is calling on its allies to expand a multinational naval task force in the Red Sea with the escalation of Houthi threats in Yemen to target ships heading to Israel.
The newspaper explained – in a report written by Dan Lamothe and Karim Fahim – that the White House sees the expansion of the naval force as a “natural response” after the Houthis, allied with Iran, launched missiles and drones at several ships and hijacked one in recent weeks.
However, measures such as military strikes or designating the Houthis as terrorists could complicate efforts by the United Nations, the United States and others to end the disastrous civil war in Yemen, according to the newspaper.
The Houthi attacks highlighted widespread anger throughout the region at the Israeli aggression that leveled neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip, killed about 18,000 people and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. It also led to a wave of retaliatory attacks on American and Israeli interests in the region.
A threat versus a threat
The Houthis threatened to target any ship that sails to Israel and does not stop in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he spoke about the Houthi threat with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, and explained, “If there is no international system, we will work to remove it.” Marine closure.
The newspaper quoted a senior US administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying that the Biden administration’s plan is to expand Joint Task Force 153, a military unit focused on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a group that includes 39 countries and is based in Bahrain, and its rotating command is assumed by an officer in US Navy.
A resident of Sanaa: What is happening in Palestine is a major crime and we must not remain silent about it, and we do not care about any reaction from America or Israel.
“Our focus is on ensuring sufficient military force to deter Houthi threats to trade in the Red Sea and in the surrounding waters,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House. “We have already heard some interest from several key partners.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed with Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman “Houthi threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
Mick Mulroy, who was a Pentagon official during the administration of former President Donald Trump, said that using a maritime security force to protect the waterways in the region is a good idea, but finding a sufficient number of ships to carry out the mission effectively may represent a challenge.
Ending the war is the solution
Days after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel on October 7, and the violent Israeli reaction, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi warned that his fighters would retaliate if “red lines” were crossed, and if they intervened. The United States is in Gaza, through “missile strikes, marches, and military options,” and said, “We are ready to intervene with everything we can.”
The Houthis launched their first attacks on October 19, targeting Israel with cruise missiles. Then they hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea and detained 25 of its crew members. They also attacked 3 commercial ships in the Red Sea. The French and Americans intercepted some Houthi missiles directed at Israel.
Mustafa Noman, an analyst, writer and former Yemeni diplomat, said in a press conference at Chatham House about Yemen that the Houthis “do not have a lot of pressure at home,” and added, “I think they hope that the Americans or the Israelis will attack them, because that will turn them into a force.” Real resistance.”
In Sanaa, the capital controlled by the Houthis, some residents indicated that ending the Israeli attack was the only solution. Radwan Muhammad bin Muhammad (48 years old), a warehouse manager, said, “What is happening in Palestine is a major crime and we should not be silent about it. We do not care about anything.” A reaction from America or Israel.”
