Yemeni official: Only military pressure can halt Israeli attacks on Gaza

A senior Yemeni government official has asserted that only military pressure can stop what he described as Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Tel Aviv regime responds exclusively to force.

Speaking on May 31, Yemen’s Deputy Minister of Information, Nasruddin Amer, said, “The unrelenting attacks on the Gaza Strip can only be stopped through exertion of military pressure on the Zionist regime, as it only responds to force,” Caliber.Az reports, citing Iranian media.

He further vowed that the Yemeni Armed Forces would intensify their operations against Israel in solidarity with Palestinians. “By the grace of God, the Yemeni Armed Forces will utilise all their might to expand the scope of the conflict and intensify pressure on the occupying regime’s domestic front. We can thereby end the suffering and plight of the oppressed people of Gaza,” he stated.

The comments come amid ongoing military activity by Yemen’s armed forces targeting Israel. On Thursday night, the Yemeni military claimed responsibility for launching a missile strike aimed at central Israel.

According to the Yemeni side, the attack involved a "hypersonic ballistic missile" directed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

In a televised address on al-Masirah TV, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed the strike and declared that operations would continue as long as Israel persists in its military campaign in Gaza and maintains its blockade.

“We will continue to ban Israeli air traffic to and from Ben Gurion Airport,” Saree said, emphasizing that the campaign would not cease until “the Israeli aggression on Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.”

Yemen has also imposed a naval blockade on key maritime routes in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, aiming to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel and to pressure international powers to take action against the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Yemeni military has consistently stated that it will not halt its operations until Israel fully ends its military campaign and siege on the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,381 Palestinians and wounded 124,054, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Gaza Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

By Khagan Isayev