Houthis hold mass rally for Gaza in capital

SANAA — Thousands rallied in support of Gaza in the rebel-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa on Friday, chanting anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans.

The Houthis have launched more than 20 attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the face of Israel's war on Hamas.

Since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, the Iran-backed rebels have organized weekly protests in Sanaa but Friday's demonstration was the "largest" so far, spokesman Mohammad Abdel Salam said.

"Millions of people" took part, he said on social media platform X.

A photographer who collaborates with AFP witnessed a flypast over the crowds by rebel helicopters and warplanes.

Aerial footage released by the Houthis' Ansarullah Media Centre showed a sea of protesters flooding the capital's al-Sabeen Square, carrying Palestinian and Hezbollah flags.

"Allahu Akbar [God is greatest]. Death to America. Death to Israel," they chanted.

The demonstrators also held up pictures of Houthi fighters killed Sunday in a US strike on rebel vessels in the Red Sea.

The US military said it had sunk three Houthi boats following attacks on a container vessel run by shipping giant Maersk. The rebels said 10 of their fighters were killed.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said that any country to involve itself with the United States-led Red Sea coalition will lose its maritime security and be targeted. Al-Houthi made the comments on Friday in an interview with the BBC, which was cited in a Reuters report.

Houthi supporter Abdulkarim al-Marwani told AFP, "We challenge you, America, to approach our coasts," as he took part in the protest.

"We will make the sea, as we made the land, a graveyard for America and Israel. We will make the sea a sinking zone and an incinerator for America and Israel," he added.

The attacks on shipping by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen's Red Sea coast, have caused major disruption to a waterway that carries about 12 percent of global trade.

Twelve nations led by the United States jointly warned the Houthis on Wednesday of unspecified consequences unless they immediately halt their attacks. 

But Sanaa protester Hazaa Sarhan warned: "Even if you unite the forces of the entire world and the forces of all the European countries, they will never intimidate us."