SANAA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi on Friday issued a four-day ultimatum to Israel, demanding the allowance of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, or his group would resume naval attacks.
"We cannot watch the escalation and prevention of aid from entering the Gaza Strip," Abdulmalik al-Houthi said in a televised speech aired by his group's al-Masirah satellite TV channel.
"We will give four days to the mediators regarding their efforts to press for the entry of aid into Gaza," al-Houthi said, "Or we will resume our naval operations against the enemy if the crossings remain closed and aid is still blocked."
This marks the second threat against Israel from the Houthi leader in just over a week. Previously, he warned of resuming attacks on Israeli cities and Israeli-linked commercial vessels in the Red Sea if Israel continued to violate the Gaza ceasefire.
The Houthis had launched numerous drone and missile attacks targeting Israeli cities and commercial ships in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians between November 2023 and Jan. 19, 2025, when the Hamas-Israel ceasefire took effect. The group also attacked U.S. aircraft carriers and naval vessels, vowing to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait if the United States continued military shipments to Israel.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of the Houthis as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization."
The department said in its statement that "the Houthis' activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade." ■
