Yemen's Houthis threaten to expand attacks if Israel invades Rafah
- 2 days ago
Yemen's Houthi group on Tuesday threatened to expand its attacks on shipping if the Israeli army invades the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
"Israel's escalation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and their threat to invade Rafah will be met with a response from the Houthis and the launch of a fourth round of escalation," Allama Muhammad Muftah, chairman of the Houthi-run Supreme Committee of Al-Aqsa Supporters, told Al-Masirah TV channel.
"If there is an escalation (in Rafah), the decision of the Yemeni armed forces is clear, and a wider escalation is possible," said Muftah.
He added that the group's escalation would be "a response to Israel's recklessness, be it attacks on Yemen, Gaza, or the occupied Palestinian territories.”
On Monday, Israeli forces issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, a move widely seen as a prelude to a long-feared Israeli offensive against the city, which is home to some 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.
Then on Tuesday, Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border crossing that connects Gaza with Egypt, closing it to all traffic.
The Israeli army said the 401st armored brigade took “operational control” of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people.
Meanwhile, nearly 34,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Seven months into Israel's war, much of Gaza has been destroyed, forcing 85 percent of the enclave's population to flee amid crippling blockades of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the United Nations.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
An interim ruling in January said it was “reasonable” that Israel was carrying out genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such actions and take measures to ensure that humanitarian aid is provided to civilians in Gaza.
"Israel's escalation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and their threat to invade Rafah will be met with a response from the Houthis and the launch of a fourth round of escalation," Allama Muhammad Muftah, chairman of the Houthi-run Supreme Committee of Al-Aqsa Supporters, told Al-Masirah TV channel.
"If there is an escalation (in Rafah), the decision of the Yemeni armed forces is clear, and a wider escalation is possible," said Muftah.
He added that the group's escalation would be "a response to Israel's recklessness, be it attacks on Yemen, Gaza, or the occupied Palestinian territories.”
On Monday, Israeli forces issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, a move widely seen as a prelude to a long-feared Israeli offensive against the city, which is home to some 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.
Then on Tuesday, Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border crossing that connects Gaza with Egypt, closing it to all traffic.
The Israeli army said the 401st armored brigade took “operational control” of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people.
Meanwhile, nearly 34,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Seven months into Israel's war, much of Gaza has been destroyed, forcing 85 percent of the enclave's population to flee amid crippling blockades of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the United Nations.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
An interim ruling in January said it was “reasonable” that Israel was carrying out genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such actions and take measures to ensure that humanitarian aid is provided to civilians in Gaza.