On May 19, the Yemeni Houthis announced that they would target all ships entering or leaving the port of Haifa, Israel’s main port in occupied Palestine. The port is located in the Red Sea, through which 15% of all world trade passes.
By Fabio Bosco
The Houthis hold de facto power in western Yemen. Since the State of Israel began its genocidal attacks against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have opposed the genocide and attacked foreign ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians.
“They are tough; they are fighters”
This is how former U.S. President Donald Trump described the Yemeni Houthis. On May 5, Trump signed an agreement with the Houthis through Omani intermediaries. According to the agreement, the Houthis ceased attacks on U.S. ships in the Red Sea, and the U.S. Navy ceased attacks on the Yemeni people.
The agreement was motivated primarily by the risk of Yemeni attacks on U.S. targets (including Trump’s presidential entourage) during his visit to Riyadh. The Saudi authorities raised the alert themselves. (1)
Another reason Trump signed the agreement was the failure of the military offensive. Despite 1,100 US bombings in 52 days, the Houthis continued attacking ships in the Red Sea and shot down seven US MQ-9 drones, each costing $30 million. Additionally, two Super Hornet F/A-18 fighter jets (each valued at $67 million) fell from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea. The total cost of the aggression against Yemen, called Operation “Rough Rider,” exceeded $1 billion in the first month alone. (2)
Trump signed the agreement in defiance of the Israeli government, which, the day before, had been hit by a Yemeni missile in the parking lot of Ben Gurion Airport—the largest in occupied Palestine—suspending all flights. In response, Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah and the airport in Sanaa, the two main gateways for humanitarian aid to the country. On May 9, the Yemenis retaliated by launching a missile that caused panic among the Israeli population, even though it was intercepted.
The ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis was a setback for the Zionists, but it did not stop the genocide in Gaza, where Israel is preparing to expel the Palestinian population, nor the violent Israeli actions in the West Bank, which aim to annex that region. The genocide will only end with the strengthening of Palestinian resistance and international solidarity.
(1) https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-saudi-arabia-pressed-trump-stop-attacks-yemen-ahead-visit
(2) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/trump-houthis-bombing.html
