JERUSALEM / HUDAYDAH — Hours after Israel issued direct warnings of potential strikes against critical Houthi infrastructure in the Red Sea port of Hudaydah, thousands of Houthi loyalists organized a large tribal demonstration in a significant show of force and resolve. The display comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Israel and Iran’s regional proxy network, with the Houthis stepping up public threats in direct response to Israeli policy statements and military posture.
The demonstration, orchestrated by Houthi leadership in northwestern Yemen, drew large crowds waving faction and Iranian flags, chanting anti-Israel slogans, and listening to speeches vowing continued resistance against Israel and support for what they term the ‘Palestinian cause.’ Houthi officials openly confirmed the rally’s intent to challenge Israel’s deterrence and reinforce the group’s commitment to Iran’s anti-Israel campaign, while vowing to pursue attacks “no matter the scale of sacrifice.”
The event in Hudaydah, a strategic port city on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, came within hours of explicit Israeli statements warning that continued Houthi attacks on Israeli or Israeli-linked maritime assets, especially in the sensitive Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, would prompt direct Israeli military action. In December 2023, the Houthis, backed and armed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), began a campaign of drone and missile strikes against commercial shipping, threatening not only Israel but also the global flow of commerce through one of the world’s busiest waterways.
Israeli officials have stressed that the threat posed by the Houthis is not merely rhetorical. Hudaydah port, under effective Houthi control since the Yemeni civil war intensified in 2014, serves as both a logistical and operational hub for maritime attacks—leveraging Iranian-supplied technology and expertise. Israel’s security cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, maintains that any attack on Israeli or allied shipping constitutes grounds for legitimate self-defense, in line with Israel’s expanded doctrine after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
This doctrine was reinforced when Yemen’s Houthis joined ‘the axis of resistance’—Iran’s bloc of proxies across Yemen, Lebanon (Hezbollah), Syria, Iraq, and Hamas in Gaza—escalating attacks on Israel in a coordinated campaign. The October 7 terror assault by Hamas, recognized internationally as the deadliest antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust, prompted Israel to adopt a zero-tolerance posture toward Iranian-orchestrated threats on all fronts. Israeli military officials say this approach is essential to defend Israeli civilians, disrupt Iran’s strategic encirclement of Israel, and safeguard regional stability.
International reactions have echoed Israeli concerns. The United States, United Kingdom, and France have boosted naval patrols in the Red Sea under Operation Prosperity Guardian, coordinating with regional partners to ensure the security of global shipping lines vital to the movement of goods and energy. U.S. Central Command repeatedly attributes the sophistication of recent Houthi attacks—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles and drone technology—to direct Iranian support.
The rally in Hudaydah draws attention to the civilian population’s predicament, as Houthi combat infrastructure often exploits densely populated areas and dual-use facilities. Human rights agencies and the United Nations have warned of heightened risks for Yemen’s residents whenever escalation seems likely, noting the pattern by Iranian-backed groups of embedding military assets amid civilian populations in violation of international norms.
The Houthis’ rise follows years of instability in Yemen, a conflict ignited when the Iranian-armed movement seized Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, and other major towns. The civil war devolved into a complex regional proxy conflict, with the Houthis receiving weapons, funding, and operational guidance from the IRGC, and in return advancing Iran’s broader goals of disrupting adversaries and establishing strategic leverage along critical shipping chokepoints.
Analysts agree that Iran’s purpose in arming the Houthis is to multiply pressure points against Israel and the West, open new fronts far from Israel’s borders, and threaten global economic interests. Tehran’s leadership—including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—has hailed Houthi operations as ‘legitimate resistance,’ highlighting the intersection between anti-Western and antisemitic ideology in the region’s ongoing conflicts.
For Israel, the latest rally and mass mobilization in Hudaydah demonstrate more than defiance; they are a warning of the enduring danger of unchecked Iranian proxy activity. Israeli leaders have signaled their readiness to act in self-defense, emphasizing that the conflict is with Iranian-sponsored terror networks, not ordinary residents of Yemen. The security of international waters, Israeli sovereignty, and the prevention of further escalation remain paramount as events continue to unfold along the Red Sea’s volatile shores.
