American newspapers: Israel is now directing its military force towards the Houthi rebels in Yemen

American newspapers warned of an imminent conflict looming over the Red Sea, considering that Yemen, controlled by the Houthis, is the last member of the Iranian-led axis of resistance whose activities and capabilities have not been reduced in recent months.

The Maritime Executive reported that the Houthi move, which was initially not a simple nuisance to the international community, has now brought together a coalition of countries that are suffering from the consequences of the Houthi move and are tired of it.

He pointed out that the Israelis are now clearly warning the Houthi leadership that they are facing the kind of large-scale attack that the rest of the resistance axis organizations are facing.

The report added that the Israelis have a proven record of identifying what they intend to do if opponents do not stop, and then implementing it; therefore, Israeli warnings should be taken seriously.

According to the newspaper, "The targets identified by the Israelis include political leaders and Houthi representatives stationed abroad in friendly countries, as well as the supply chain extending to Iran that has kept the Houthis supplied with missiles and drones."

In recent days, Israel and the US have intensified the number of raids they are carrying out on targets in Yemen, without so far succeeding in convincing the Houthis to stop carrying out their attacks. Looming on the horizon within the area of operations is the aircraft carrier strike group Harry S. Truman, which is now in the northern Red Sea.

Just behind, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was transiting the Suez Canal on 23 December, with a strong enough escort group to provide protection if it remained in the high-risk Red Sea environment. British strike aircraft that have previously attacked Houthi targets are still deployed in the area.

As a prelude to any major offensive action, an accurate and detailed intelligence picture is a prerequisite, and so the presence of the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton intelligence-gathering platforms, which were spotted over the southern Red Sea on December 20 but are present continuously, is of great importance.

The newspaper concluded by saying that if the Houthi attacks on Israel and shipping continue, a major counterattack to neutralize Houthi offensive activity is possible and likely in the post-Christmas period, with additional consequences for the flow of maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

For its part, the American newspaper Los Angeles Times said that Israel is now directing its military power towards another major force supported by Iran: "the Houthi rebels in Yemen."

“Israel has sought and will receive a rare hearing at the U.N. Security Council on Monday to discuss the conflict with the Houthis,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the newspaper. Other countries typically call hearings to criticize Israel, but Israel has been able to take advantage of the U.S. position as the rotating president of the Security Council.

Danon said he would ask the council to formally condemn the Houthis but remained skeptical about any meaningful action, especially given the veto power held by China and Russia.

"We intend to draw the attention of Iran and the Houthis to what happened to Hamas. It seems that the Houthis still do not understand what happens to those who try to harm the State of Israel... We are not playing," Danon said in a telephone interview from New York, where the United Nations is headquartered.

The battle in Yemen has been second only to other explosive conflicts in the Middle East. For more than a decade, the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and other Western powers, has been at war with Iran-backed Houthi rebels. More than a quarter of a million people have died in attacks, food shortages and other humanitarian crises.

“We have tried to raise awareness among countries, not just in the region but also beyond, about the harm that the Houthis’ actions are having on international commerce in real and meaningful ways,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations this month.

“The rise of the Houthis … has brought them to a place where they have accumulated assets that they have not hesitated to use,” Blinken said. “And my concern … is that even when we get to the point where the conflict in Gaza ends, [the Houthis] may persist, because they have put themselves on the world stage.”

American-Israeli communication

On Friday, the White House National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator, John Kirby, said that the United States will continue its strikes against the capabilities of the Yemeni Houthi group "as long as its capabilities are active."

Kirby added during a press conference that "the Houthis still pose a real and present threat to the security and safety of the Israeli people, as they continue to launch strikes on Israeli territory, and Israel has the right to defend itself," he claimed.

He pointed out that his country is "communicating" with Israel in order to carry out its strikes on the group with "the least possible impact on civilian infrastructure" and "the least risk to civilians" in Yemen.

The Israeli army launched several raids on a number of sites in Yemen on Thursday, including Sanaa International Airport and a number of Yemeni ports, while the Houthi Ministry of Health announced that the Israeli raids killed 6 and injured 40 others.

Kirby continued during the press conference, saying: “As we have said before and we repeat, how they defend themselves is of course important, and we want to see their operations conducted with the least possible impact on civilian infrastructure, and certainly with the least possible risk to the civilian population.”

The US official indicated that the talks between Tel Aviv and Washington are "ongoing," noting that his country believes that these "strikes are effective," but he added: "It is clear that the Houthis still pose an ongoing threat, and they still have capabilities that they use against commercial and military activity in the Red Sea. Therefore, these strikes will continue as long as this threat continues."

Asked about not hearing any new news about strikes on cargo ships passing through the Red Sea, Kirby replied: “This could be related to several factors. It could be that the Houthis have reduced their attacks on ships while they are focusing on attacking Israel, or there could be other factors, such as the availability of interceptors and supplies.”

"We certainly believe that the strikes we have carried out have had a role in degrading their capabilities, as we have significantly reduced those capabilities, although we have not eliminated them completely," he added.

While Kirby stressed that the United States is "monitoring the situation closely," he also stressed that "we must emphasize that the Houthis still have some capabilities to carry out these attacks, whether on shipping or against the Israeli people. So these efforts will continue to confront those threats."

“The Houthis still have the ability to attack shipping, but we believe we have significantly degraded their ability to do so,” he continued. “In addition, we have extensive defensive capabilities, and we believe that one of the reasons that attacks against commercial shipping have not been successful recently is that we continue to improve and enhance our defensive capabilities to prevent these attacks from succeeding.”

"Another factor may be that the Houthis have increased their focus on attacks against Israel. So I think it's a combination of those factors," he said, stressing that "strikes against their capabilities will continue as long as we believe those capabilities remain active, and they are still active."