Trump vows to hold Iran responsible for Houthi attacks

‘AXIS OF RESISTANCE’

The Houthis are part of what has been called the “Axis of Resistance”, an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias that also includes the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah and is backed by Iran.

Israel has severely weakened many of Iran’s regional allies since being attacked by Hamas gunmen in Oct 2023.

Israel has assassinated the top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, and the fall of another Iranian ally, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, also dealt a blow to Tehran. But the Houthis are still standing, along with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

In further violence in the Middle East, an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian men in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, local medics said on Monday. The three had left their homes to collect firewood, family members said.

Israel’s military, which began its Gaza campaign after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel in Oct 2023, said it had conducted attacks in central Gaza and Rafah against “terrorists” operating near their forces and trying to plant bombs.

The bloodshed underscores the fragility of a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US. There was no sign of progress from renewed talks on sustaining a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

The Houthis said last week they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea if Israel did not lift a block on aid entering Gaza.

Israel’s suspension of goods entering Gaza for 16 days has increased pressure on the enclave’s 2.3 million people, most of who have been made homeless by the war. The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine, and fuel imports.

Houthi fighters have also fired drones and missiles towards Israel.

Israel, which has hit multiple Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, has warned the militants to halt their strikes, saying they risked the same “miserable fate” as Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad.