The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, is an Islamist rebel movement fighting in the Yemen Civil War.
They are primarily made up of Shia Muslims and their name comes from their leadership being primarily from the Houthi tribe.
The group is thought to have its roots to Yemeni youth movements but were believed to have become radicalized and eventually emerged in the early 2000s as an opposition movement against then-Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Its leader at the time, Hussein al-Houthi, was killed by Yemeni troops in 2004. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi currently leads the organization.
The Houthis aided in the overthrow of Saleh in the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, and in 2014, they managed to seize control of the capital city of Saana, sparking the still-ongoing Yemeni civil war.
Widely believed to be an Iran-backed proxy group, the Houthis are also known for their antisemitic views. Their slogan is "God is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. A Curse Upon the Jews. Victory to Islam."
Following the October 7 massacre in 2023, the Houthis began launching numerous ballistic missile and drone strikes against Israel, as well as attacking ships in the Red Sea. This has launched numerous tit-for-tat strikes between Ansar Allah and the Jewish state.
Houthi leader addressed recent developments in the Middle East in a statement and claimed there is a broader Israeli strategic plan targeting Iraq.
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The US State Department officially designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 5.
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The Houthi movement claimed that its senior intelligence leader, Abdul Nasser Al-Kamali, was killed in a US airstrike.
To deal successfully with jihadist enemies that seek “power over death,” Israel’s only prudential strategy should be based on a deeper understanding of the enemy's anti-reason.
The Yemen-based terror group's actions indicate they are not deterred by the resumption of the US airstrikes over the past three weeks.
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