Houthis expand their solidarity with Palestinians, and Israel promotes genocide by starvation.
By: Marcel Wando
A photograph distributed by the Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah Media Center shows a huge plume of fire erupting after reported attacks on the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeidah, July 20, 2024.
An explosives-laden drone struck an apartment building in central Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday, July 19, 2024, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed to continue targeting Tel Aviv and claim that their drones are not detected by Israeli radars.
This unprecedented attack on the capital of the Zionist occupation has increased settlers’ fears about the real security provided by the Iron Dome (an air defense system that intercepts missiles, planes and drones).
This incident is part of a series of attacks reflecting the resistance against the Zionist colonial occupation in the region. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been expanding the genocide against Palestinians, which may have exceeded 180,000 deaths. The Houthis are part of the resistance against this colonial oppression. They have launched more than 200 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against Israel since November, intensifying their solidarity efforts with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In the early hours of Friday, the Iranian Samad-3 drone, modified to have extended range, flew at low altitude for several hours before hitting an apartment building in Tel Aviv at 3:12 am. The explosion killed Yevgeny Ferder, 50, who was hit by shrapnel. Ferder was a former fighter in the Israel Defense Forces. In addition, eight people were hospitalized, four of them injured by shrapnel or shock waves and the other four treated for acute anxiety.
The impact site, close to hotels and the U.S. embassy office in Tel Aviv, is currently home to numerous Israeli settlers who have taken refuge for fear of living on the border with Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, where the State of Israel is carrying out military offensives. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that the failure to intercept the drone was due to human error, in an attempt to reassure the population.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant immediately promised retaliation. The next day, on July 20, he bombed the port of Hodeidah, a city in the west of the country, located on the Red Sea, killing 6 people and injuring 87. This port is the main gateway for humanitarian aid and 70% of Yemen’s imports. Considering that it is the poorest of the Arab countries, humanitarian aid plays a fundamental role in the survival of the population.
Once again, Israel is using the pretext of “fighting terrorism” to implement a policy of genocide of Arabs by starvation, just as it has with Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthis are the only Arab organization that really stands up to Israel beyond words. The effectiveness of this attack, which went unnoticed by Israel’s defense systems, raises questions about the effectiveness of Iron Dome. To better understand the relationship between discourse and practice of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” (alliance of regimes and political organizations led by the Iranian regime), read the text Iranian Counterattack Creates More Uncertainty in the Middle East. This analysis can provide a deeper insight into the dynamics and consequences of the actions of the Axis of Resistance in the region.
