Yemen's Houthis to keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal

Yemen's Houthi rebels will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a cease-fire that ended weeks of intense U.S. strikes on the Iran-backed group.

A day after the Houthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official told AFP that Israel was excluded from the deal.

"The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones," Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.

"Israel is not part of the agreement; it only includes American and other ships," he said.

The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Gaza war.

They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.

Alejri said the Houthis would now "only" attack Israeli ships. In the past, vessels visiting Israel, or those with tenuous Israeli links, were in the rebels' sights.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei "welcomed the cessation of U.S. aggression against the country," praising Yemenis for their "legendary resistance."

Saudi Arabia also commended the deal, a foreign ministry statement said.

The U.S.-Houthi agreement was announced after deadly Israeli strikes on Tuesday put Sanaa airport out of action in revenge for a Houthi missile strike on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.

Sanaa airport director Khaled al-Shaief told the rebels' Al-Masirah television on Wednesday that the Israeli attack had destroyed terminal buildings and caused $500 million in damage.

Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the rebels that "neither side will target the other ... ensuring freedom of navigation."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who will visit Gulf countries next week, trumpeted the deal, saying the Houthis had "capitulated."

"They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that's ... the purpose of what we were doing," he said during a White House press appearance.

Indirect contacts

The cease-fire followed weeks of stepped-up U.S. strikes aimed at deterring Houthi attacks on shipping. The U.S. attacks left 300 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Houthi figures.

The Pentagon said last week that U.S. strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed "Rough Rider."

Alejri said recent U.S.-Iran talks in Muscat "provided an opportunity" for indirect contacts between Sanaa and Washington, leading to the cease-fire.

"America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel," he added.

"We did not target any American ships or warships until they targeted us."

Scores of Houthi missile and drone attacks have drastically reduced cargo volumes on the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.

The Houthis say their campaign, and a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory, is in solidarity with the Palestinians.