Latitude being reached: The Houthis have promised painful strikes against Israel
The return from Yemen of seaman Alexei Galaktionov, who was wounded in the Houthi attack on the cargo ship Eternity C, has become questionable due to the escalation in the region. Against the background of the threat of a new Israeli operation in Gaza, the attack on the Nasser hospital in the south of the exclave and the IDF strikes on Sanaa, the fate of the Russian citizen may be linked to the truce talks between Hamas and the Jewish state. The Houthis have promised to expand operations against Israel until the blockade of the Gaza Strip is lifted, Husam al-Assad, a member of the political bureau of the Ansar Allah movement, told Izvestia. According to him, painful blows await the enemy. And the crew of the Eternity C ship, including a Russian citizen, are called "guests under guardianship" by the Houthis. A source in the Ansar Allah movement told Izvestia that the team members are not considered prisoners of war or detainees, their stay in Yemen is explained by "legitimate defensive actions."
Houthis threaten Israel with new attacks
On August 25, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed an attack on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. At least 20 people, including five journalists, became victims of the shelling of the medical complex. UN Chief Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the killing of Palestinians, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he deeply regretted the tragic incident.
Donald Trump said he had not been warned about the attacks on the hospital in Gaza. The US president said he regretted the incident. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commenting on the attack, sharply criticized the actions of the Israeli government. "The distraught Netanyahu government continues its barbaric attacks, destroying everything related to humanity," he said.
The Houthis have already promised to expand military operations against Israel if it does not stop attacks on the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade from it. This was stated to Izvestia by a member of the political bureau of the Ansar Allah movement, Khuzam al-Asad. His words were made against the background of the latest Israeli attacks on Yemen.
Earlier, Israeli aircraft attacked a number of facilities in Sanaa, including the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC) refueling station and the Haziz power plant. According to an Al Masirah TV channel source in the Houthi Defense Ministry, the air defense forces managed to intercept some of the air targets, forcing some Israeli fighter jets to leave Yemeni airspace. According to the Houthi authorities, at least two people were killed and 35 others were injured in the attack.
"The damage was limited to the humanitarian and service sectors, while our military capabilities were not affected. Our will is firm, and we will continue to support Gaza, no matter what the victims," a representative of the movement told Izvestia.
According to the representative of the movement, the attacks did not weaken the Houthis' combat capabilities, but, on the contrary, only strengthened their resolve.
— Our strategy is clear: We will respond to aggression and expand operations in support of Gaza until the strikes stop and the blockade is lifted. Every attack on Sanaa or another city only strengthens our resolve to go our own way. The upcoming actions will be even more painful for the enemy and his vital interests," Khuzam al-Assad added.
The Israeli army, in turn, reported that the strikes targeted the Houthis' military infrastructure, including the presidential palace complex in Sanaa, power plants and fuel depots. According to the IDF, all of them were used "for military purposes."
Al-Assad claims that Israel is trying to create the illusion of victory and raise the morale of soldiers and settlers after the failures in Gaza by firing at fuel storage facilities and puffs of smoke.
The Houthis continue to strike at Israeli territory and ships associated with the Jewish State. So, on August 22, the armed forces of the movement attacked Ben Gurion Airport, as well as facilities in Tel Aviv and Ashkelon. According to the Kan State Television and radio company, when the Houthis fired at Israeli territory from Yemen, they used a rocket with a cluster warhead for the first time.
In addition, last week, the movement attacked two ships in the Red Sea, accusing them of violating a ban on entry into Israeli ports. The resumption of attacks on Israel from Yemen occurred back in March, after the collapse of the truce in Gaza. At that time, the rebels fired about 40 ballistic missiles towards Israel and used several dozen drones. However, the intensity of the strikes decreased after a direct military clash between Israel and Iran.
According to orientalist Leonid Tsukanov, the Houthis are betting on exhausting the enemy and forcing Israel to keep the Yemeni direction in constant focus, while the geographical remoteness of Yemen does not allow the Jewish state to conduct a large-scale operation to contain Ansar Allah without redistributing forces from other directions.
— In the context of the increasing onslaught in Gaza, the IDF reserves are aimed specifically at the exclave. Despite the fact that the damage "on the ground" from the actions of the Houthis is often minimal, the Israelis do not yet have the opportunity to completely remove this threat from the agenda, the expert told Izvestia.
Yemen remains split between the three largest centers of political influence. The Sana'a alliance, led by the Hussite Ansar Allah movement, is based in the capital and controls about 70-80% of the country's population. The Houthis' opponent is the Arab coalition, split into two competing camps — one, in fact, oversees Saudi Arabia, the other — the UAE. The internationally recognized Yemeni government is represented by the Riyadh-backed presidential Governing Council, headed by Chairman Rashid al-Alimi, and the government controls about 70% of the country's area, including oil and gas fields in the southern provinces of Marib and Hadramaut. The Southern Transitional Council (UPC), headed by General Eidarous al-Zubeidi, is the Emirati wing of the Arab coalition and is based in Aden.
Russian sailor Galaktionov in Yemen
As a result of the July Houthi attack on the cargo ship Eternity C, operated by the Greek company Cosmoship Management, Russian citizen Alexei Galaktionov was also injured. As a result of the attack, the ship sank. At the same time, the Russian sailor was seriously injured. Now, according to media reports, he is on the mend.
The Houthis claim that they provided medical assistance to the victims and took them "to a safe place." However, the fate of the crew remains uncertain.
— It doesn't come down to traditional classifications like "prisoners of war" or "detainees". We are talking about legitimate defensive actions caused by the development of the situation in the Red Sea. The crew members are treated as "guests under guardianship" until the necessary legal and political assessments are completed, a source in the Houthi movement told Izvestia.
It is worth noting that foreign hostages captured by the Palestinian Hamas movement and held in Gaza were also previously referred to as guests.
On July 30, the Russian Embassy in Yemen stated that it did not yet have information about the possibility of the Russian returning home soon, while the Houthis did not make any demands on the sailor.
At the same time, a member of the political bureau of the movement, Muhammad al-Buheiti, had previously admitted that the fate of the crew could be related to the negotiations between Hamas and Israel on a truce in Gaza. "We always link the fate of the ships and their crews to the negotiations between Hamas and Israel. In general, the same scenario was with the Galaxy Leader vessel," he said.
According to political analyst Sanda al-Sayyadi, who is close to the Houthis, the crew members receive proper humane treatment, including necessary medical care, especially the wounded, including a Russian citizen.
— Any possible scenarios cannot be ruled out, including an exchange, if circumstances require it, within the framework of a responsible approach that balances security issues and humanitarian considerations. However, it is definitely premature to talk about this at this stage due to the sensitivity and complexity of the situation," he told Izvestia.
Thus, the fate of Russian sailor Alexei Galaktionov may be directly related to the course of the negotiation process in Gaza, which is currently on the verge of collapse. On August 21, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan to seize the capital of the exclave and at the same time announced the start of new negotiations on the release of all hostages "on terms acceptable to Israel." Two weeks ago, he insisted that Israel would accept only the full release of all hostages.
At the next meeting of the security cabinet, which will be held on August 26, Netanyahu is expected to discuss the situation in Gaza and efforts to conclude an agreement on the release of hostages.
Russia stands for the early resumption of negotiations between the parties to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in order to resolve current issues, discuss the possibility of a truce, as well as the release of hostages and Palestinians who are in Israeli prisons.
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