The Houthis have undergone a transformation of their reputation since the start of the War of Israel against Gaza in October 2023.
A rebellious group of the extreme north of Yemen, the Houthis fought the Yemeni government and a coalition led by Saudi Arabia for almost a decade, proving a certain degree of military prowess, but had little capacity to project the Regional power, even if they drew missiles and drones from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from time to time.
And at the national level, among many Yemenis, they were unpopular, considered by their enemies as a theocratic and repressive group which wanted to endanger the Republic of Yemen – even though the Iranian ally defended their takeover of a large part of Yemen as a popular revolution.
Many things have changed in the past 16 months when the Houthis have demonstrated their capacities – drawing projectiles deeply in Israel and causing damage – as well as their desire to challenge the West and attack the expedition in the seas Around Yemen, all ostensibly to support the Palestinians in Gaza.
For these actions, among many in the region and beyond, the Houthis have become a symbol of resistance against Israel and the West and the true representative of the Yemeni State.
And at the national level, it turned out to be difficult for the group’s enemies to criticize their actions in support of the Palestinians, a popular position in a country as firmly pro-Palestinian as Yemen.
“Houthi leaders have not feared the United States or any other Western force,” said Abdullah Yahia, Sanaa high school graduate. “Offering support to Gaza is the real gauge of courage and humanity. This is why I changed my point of view on the Houthis. »»
“They managed to considerably increase their popularity,” said Tel Aviv Tribune Adel Dashela, postdoctoral scholarship holder of the Columbia Global Centers – Amman. “Innumerable people around the world believe that Gaza has been injured and that any action to support its population is commendable.”
On the military level, Dashela believes that the real impact of the actions of the Houthis was on the maritime transport industry, rather than in its attacks against Israel – which only caused limited damage.
Many maritime companies now avoid the Red Sea – a vital international shipping route – due to the Houthi attacks that the reprisals led by the United States could not stop. Attacks against shipping – which, according to a count of the location of non -profit armed conflicts and event data (ACLED), have counted more than 200 since the start of the war – have increased costs D ‘Shipping and led freight traffic via the Suez Canal in Egypt to fall.
Overall, the Houthis grew up in force and are embraced, at a time when Iranian and pro -Iranian groups in the region in the broad sense – like the Palestinian group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah group – seem lower.
“No longer just focus on Yemen, (the Houthis) of increasing ambitions to fill the vacuum left by the ruined axis of Iran cannot be ignored,” wrote Beth Sanner, former deputy director American national intelligence, and Jennifer Kavanagh, Fellow and director of military analysis with defense priorities, in an article for foreign policy last month.
More enemies
On January 16, after the ceasefire of Gaza was agreed, the leader of the group, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, warned that the attacks on Israel will resume if the truce was raped, a threat that was repeated . And on January 20, a day after the start of the ceasefire, the head of the Houthi, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said that the group had possession of missiles “with 100%precision”.
“The one who thinks we exaggerate should review our attacks on ships related to (Israel),” he added.
The Houthis have gone from a threat located to that which now poses a direct challenge to Israeli and Western interests, which are now more focused on the search for a way to defeat, or at least seriously weaken the Houthis.
The United States and the United Kingdom began to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen in January 2024, and Israel also carried out its own attacks. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country “tracked” Houthi leaders.
The United States has now redesigned the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organization” – one of President Donald Trump’s first measures in his new mandate.
A declaration by the White House explained that American policy should now cooperate with regional partners to eliminate the capacities and operations of Houthis and deprive them of resources.
“The American redesign of the Houthi group as a foreign terrorist organization is part of the wider campaign of the West against Iranian proxies in the region,” Abdusalam Mohammed, chief of Yemen Abad Studies and Research Center told Tel Aviv Tribune Mohammed Mohammed Mohammed. .
“The redesign of the Houthis, I think, is a prologue for a (wider) military operation to weaken or dismember the Houthi group.”
The resolution has rabid the Houthis, who say that the United States intends to worsen the suffering of the Yemeni people because of their support for the Palestinians.
The Houthi political office of Sanaa called on the “free nations” to denounce the American decision, declaring: “Our armed forces will remain on alert and ready for any military climbing in Yemen.”
“With their designation as a terrorist group, the Houthis lost the opportunity to resolve the conflict in Yemen by peace talks. The West now seems more inclined to eliminate the group rather than include it in a full diplomatic process, “said Mohammed.
The Houthis will not be allowed to “act without control,” said Khalfan al-Touqi, omanal political and economic analyst. “Following the weakening of other Iranian attorney in the region, the West – in particular the United States and the United Kingdom – considers this as a golden opportunity to reduce the power of the Houthi group as much as possible,” said -It added.
Al-Touqi maintains that the United States, Europe, Israel and the governments of the Middle East will favor the weakening of the Houthi group in the coming months.
“We have clear evidence of what happened to Iranian allies in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. Now, only one group supported by Iran remains significantly influential: the Houthis. However, this group cannot maintain its strength indefinitely, “said Al-Touqi.
He added: “President Trump considers the Houthi group as an important problem. Consequently, it is likely to mobilize forces to target and weaken the Houthis. Although they are not entirely eliminated, their capacities will undoubtedly be reduced. »»
Difficult to defeat
However, the Houthis found themselves underestimated before – if anything, it is their ability to survive in the face of apparently much stronger enemies that have contributed to their belief in a divine capacity to overcome adversaries.
But the group will also probably welcome regional de -escalation and the opportunity to declare victory over Israel.
“The cessation of the Gaza War would be a rescue buoy for the Houthis,” said Ayed al-Manna, a Kuwaitian university and political researcher. “The group would defuse its operations, because it would not be justified to pursue such attacks against the shipping routes.”
If the Gaza conflict is intensifying again and the Houthis take over the attacks against Israel and the expedition to the Red Sea, then the Yemeni group can find itself under a heavier attack than before.
Some have suggested that this could lead to the Houthis faced with a fate similar to another Iranian ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December, or that the management of the Yemeni group could be murdered, because a large part From Lebanese management to Lebanese could the Hezbollah group was.
But while the Houthis are in the same pro -Iranian camp, there are clear differences – including Israel and the West do not seem to have the same information on the Houthis they have had on Hezbollah and the Hamas, and that the Houthis have already resisted years of coalition bombing led by Saudi Arabia and survived.
“The Houthi Group Still Holds significant Strengths-It Possesses Vast Arsenals, Thousands of Fighters, Firm Control Over its Territories, and, Most Cruciallly, The Weakness of Its Yemeni Opponents,” Said Mohammed al-Samaei, A Taiz-Based Political and journalist.
These factors, noted Al-Samaei, allow the group to suffer confrontations with local and foreign forces.
“Even if the Yemeni government, supported by the Western powers, is launching a new offensive against the Houthis, their rapid collapse – similar to what happened with the Assad regime in Syria – is not guaranteed.”
