Houthi: US call for China mediation in Red Sea a sign of failure
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says a US attempt to seek help from China for mediation to stop strikes on Israeli-bound ships in the Red Sea shows the US and Britain have failed in their mission.
Speaking in a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital of Sana’a on Thursday, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the United States sees its power waning at home and overseas.
Houthi also renewed his pledge that Yemen’s anti-Israel operations will continue until the regime’s campaign of genocide in Gaza ends.
“One sign of its failure is Washington’s attempt to seek assistance from Beijing in order to mediate and persuade us to stop our operations in support of the Palestinians against Israeli ships and those associated with the Israeli enemy,” he said.
“China knows what America is doing in Taiwan, and it knows what America has done in targeting China and imposing economic sanctions and seeking to limit its economic growth. China knows America’s hostile policies against it, and it is well aware of the extent of the American conspiracy through the Taiwan issue. Therefore, China will not involve itself in serving America or working for its interests.”
Houthi also said Israel and its Western backers must realize that they cannot break the resolve of the Yemeni people by repeated airstrikes on the Yemeni territory.
Yemen’s Houthis target two more ships in the Red Sea amid their pro-Palestine military campaign.
Houthi touched upon Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza in the wake of the January 26 ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He said international institutions cannot make just and effective decisions regarding the crimes of Israel due to the US influence.
Houthi said the West’s moral bankruptcy is evident in their recent move to cut funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
He also slammed Arab countries for exporting goods to Israel, calling it an act of betrayal as the Palestinians are starving to death in the besieged Gaza Strip.
US and British warplanes have recently conducted several airstrikes on Yemen, targeting the capital Sana’a and several other cities in response to the pro-Palestinian strikes by the Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea.
Since the start of the Israeli hostilities in early October, the United States and its Western allies have been providing financial and logistical support to Israel in its campaign.
Explosion reported near ship off Hudaydah
An explosion was reported near a ship off the Red Sea coast of Yemen, British maritime security agency UKMTO said Thursday.
“Master reports an explosion a distance off the vessel’s starboard side” west of the port city of Hudaydah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
In a separate attack, maritime security firm Ambrey said a missile fired from Yemen hit a merchant vessel early Thursday.
“A merchant vessel was reportedly targeted with a ‘missile’ while underway… southwest of Aden, Yemen,” Ambrey said, adding that “the vessel reported an explosion” on board.
“Ambrey was aware that a missile was fired from… Taez,” the firm said.
The statement did not identify the ship or the flag it was flying.
It came after the Yemeni army said it fired missiles at a US ship in the Gulf of Aden, south of the Red Sea, heading to Israeli ports.
The missiles “directly hit the vessel”, which the rebels identified as “KOI,” army spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on social media.
