The United States called on the U.N. Security Council Wednesday to take urgent action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels for attacking ships in the key Red Sea trade route and warned their longtime financier Iran that it has a choice to make about continuing to provide support to the rebels.
U.S. deputy ambassador Christopher Lu told an emergency council meeting that the Houthis have carried out more than 20 attacks since Nov. 19 – and despite losing 10 fighters in a confrontation with U.S. forces after trying unsuccessfully to board a cargo ship on Sunday, the rebel group announced Wednesday morning they had targeted another container ship.
The Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014, have said they launched the attacks on ships in the Red Sea with the aim of ending Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel.
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told the council that as a result of the Houthi attacks, around 18 shipping companies have rerouted their vessels around South Africa to avoid the risk of being hit.
This is an argument for the lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. If Israel has the right to blockade Gaza, North Yemen should have the right to blockade Israel.
That argument would hold if they were only going after Israeli ships.
In 2011, Israel boarded a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid under Turkish flag and murdered a bunch of people (incl. an American).
Israel are dicks, that doesn’t mean you can go attacking other random countries ships.
That’s like if you punched me so I hit an elderly person down the street in retaliation.
I’m not saying you should hit the elderly person, I am saying I shouldn’t have punched you in the first place.
The analogy is more that the same bully who gave me complete impunity and no consequences when I punched you is now going around saying to stop people punching my friends because punching is wrong, but hey not for me, because I still get to punch whomever I like.