Houthis signal halt in Red Sea attacks as Gaza ceasefire holds

Yemen’s Houthi movement appears to have paused its attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea, as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold in the Gaza Strip.

In an undated letter to Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, published online by the group, the Houthis offered their clearest indication yet that their operations have stopped, Al Arabiya reports.

“We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” the letter, signed by Major General Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, the Houthi military’s chief of staff, reads.

The Houthis, however, have not issued any formal acknowledgment that their campaign in the region has ended.

Israel’s military, which has previously conducted strikes killing senior Houthi leaders, declined to comment. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned in September that Israel would respond “sevenfold” to any attacks targeting its territory following a drone strike on Eilat that wounded 22 people.

The Houthis rose to international attention during the Israel-Hamas war for their attacks on shipping and Israeli targets, which they said aimed to pressure Israel to halt its operations. Since the October 10 ceasefire in Gaza, the group has claimed no attacks.

While the Houthis maintained that their campaign targeted vessels affiliated with Israel, many of the attacked ships had little, if any, direct connection to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Their operations have resulted in at least nine mariners killed and four ships sunk, significantly disrupting Red Sea shipping—a critical maritime artery through which approximately $1 trillion in goods passed annually before the conflict. Their latest reported strike hit the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht on Septtember 29, killing one crew member and wounding another.

The attacks have also had wider economic repercussions. Transit through Egypt’s Suez Canal, a key link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, has been severely disrupted. The canal remains a vital source of hard currency for Egypt, generating $10 billion in 2023 amid broader economic challenges.

The International Monetary Fund reported in July that Houthi attacks had reduced foreign exchange inflows from the canal by $6 billion in 2024. Although shipping traffic has partially resumed during the lull in attacks, many vessels continue to reroute around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Earlier this year, the United States conducted an intensive bombing campaign targeting Houthi positions, which former President Donald Trump halted just before his Middle East visit.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have detained dozens of UN agency workers and other aid personnel, alleging without evidence that they were spies—a claim strongly denied by the UN and other organizations.

By Vafa Guliyeva