The Iranian-backed Houthis increasingly appear to be alone in the attempts to attack Israel, as Iran and its other proxy groups have been weakened. They have not suffered a major setback since they began their attacks on Israel and on shipping in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Instead, the terrorist group has generally enjoyed the ability to carry out long-range strikes and then hide out in the mountains around Sanaa, Yemen, waiting for a response.
The US had tried to respond to these strikes, whereas Israel was concentrating on Hamas in Gaza and viewed the Houthi attacks as one front in a seven-front war. Israel eventually did respond with two rounds of airstrikes on the Houthis in July and September.
As for the US, it launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in December 2023 to counter Houthi attacks on commercial ships. The naval operation was only moderately successful. The Israeli strikes did not seem to deter the Houthis either. They continue to attack Israel with drones and missiles.
The Houthi attacks continue even as Hamas continues to face setbacks in Gaza and as Hezbollah has agreed to an Israel-Lebanon 60-day ceasefire that will end in late January. Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime has fallen. The Iranian-backed militias in Iraq also seem to have stopped their attacks on Israel, for now.
'US opening gates of hell'
Perhaps they are worried about the fallout from Assad’s downfall. They might see protests in Sunni Arab cities, leaving the Shi’ite militias in Iraq to face local pressure. Many Iraqis hate the militias and resent them hijacking Iraq for their own needs.
On the evening of December 15-16, reports claimed there were new airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen. A correspondent for Al-Arabiya claimed the US had carried out the strikes. It’s not clear if there are more details at the moment.
Meanwhile, on December 14, US Central Command said the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier, was entering its area of responsibility.
The carrier is the flagship for a large strike group of ships that includes nine squadrons of aircraft, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, the USS Gettysburg, and two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Stout and the USS Jason Dunham.
“The strike group was deployed to ensure regional stability and security,” the American military said.The Houthis are angry about the reported strikes, according to Iranian state media.
“A senior member of the [Houthi] movement emphasized in a message that the US is opening the gates of hell to itself by increasing tensions with Yemen,” Iran’s IRNA reported on December 16.
“The US embassy has lined up its mercenaries for war against the Yemeni people with the aim of stopping the operation to support the Gaza Strip,” Abdul Rahman Al-Ahnumi, a top Houthi official, wrote in a message on X/Twitter.According to the IRNA, “He warned that any escalation of tensions will open the gates of hell to the presence of the US, its interests, oil, and mercenaries in the region.”