The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza collapsed at about 2 a.m. local time Tuesday when Israel launched dozens of strikes on Gaza because of Hamas’ “repeated refusal to release [the remaining] hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” according to a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is “attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout Gaza in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the statement continued. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
While there was no mention in Netanyahu’s statement of another ground invasion of Gaza the phrase “with increasing military strength” clearly implies it.
Netanyahu’s statement also said that the new military operation is designed to achieve Israel’s war aims — the dismantlement of the terror group’s military and governing capabilities and the return of all of the remaining 59 hostages.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the Israeli government had consulted the Trump administration before launching the operation, which has been named “Operation Strength and Sword.”
Leavitt also said that President Trump “has made it clear: Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America will see a price to pay.”
All of “the terrorists in the Middle East” should take Trump “very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people … and our friend and our ally Israel,” she added.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the Times of Israel that, “Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead chose refusal and war.”
ISRAELI AIR STRIKES PREVENTED A NEW HAMAS ATTACK
Axios reported that Netanyahu ordered the attack, two and a half weeks after phase one of the ceasefire deal had expired, after Israel determined in recent days that, “during the ceasefire, Hamas has been preparing to carry out new attacks against Israel and has taken steps to rearm.” Reportedly, Israeli leaders restricted word of the attack plan to “a relatively small circle in order to surprise Hamas.”
The extensive wave of air strikes across Gaza was jointly planned by the IDF and the Shin Bet intelligence service. It targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of Hamas’ political leadership, and its military infrastructure. The IDF issued photos of its recently appointed chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, alongside Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar, and Israeli Air Force Commander General Tomer Bar supervising air strikes from the underground operations center at the Defense Ministry headquarters building known as the Kirya in Tel Aviv.
Al Jazeera and other Arab news sources reported that Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a deputy minister in Hamas’ Interior Ministry, was among several senior Hamas figures who were killed in the Israeli strikes. The killed Hamas leaders also include, according to an Egyptian television station, Abu Obeida al-Jamasi, a member of Hamas’ political bureau and head of its emergency committee; Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of central operations in the Gaza Interior Ministry, according to a Saudi news channel; Ahmad Al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’ justice ministry in Gaza, and Issam Da’alis, another member of Hamas’ political bureau who effectively acts as Hamas’ prime minister.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 404 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli air strikes Monday night, and another 562 were injured, but as always, the Hamas casualty figures are unverified and don’t differentiate between civilians and armed terrorists. The Hamas health ministry claims that the total number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since Hamas staged its October 7, 2023 attack at 48,000, while the IDF estimates that it has killed a total of about 20,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza, in addition to another 1,600 terrorists who were killed inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
HAMAS HAS PARTIALLY RECOVERED
Hamas was able to take advantage of the ceasefire to recruit many thousands of fighters to replace those who were killed, but since most of the new recruits have not been thoroughly trained, Hamas is not nearly as militarily capable as it was before its October 7 attack. It is also clear that Hamas was able to regain effective control of the areas of Gaza from which Israeli soldiers have withdrawn. It has been enriching itself and maintaining control over the civilian population by hijacking the humanitarian aid that Israel has allowed into Gaza and then reselling it at inflated prices to Gaza residents. In addition, some of the released Israel hostages have reported that much of Hamas’ huge network of tunnels underneath Gaza remains intact and that many of the sections that were destroyed by the IDF have been repaired.
The Israeli military is said to have a step-by-step plan to complete the defeat and elimination of Hamas which it began to implement before it resumed its air strikes on Hamas targets with the termination of humanitarian aid deliveries and the cutoff of electrical power to Gaza.
After the Israeli air strikes on Gaza began, the IDF Spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee issued an urgent warning on X to residents in specific combat zones in Gaza, including Beit Hanoun, Khirbet Khaza’a, Abasan al-Kabira, and al-Jadida. They were urged to evacuate immediately as Israeli forces intensified their operations. Adraee called on the civilians to relocate to designated safe shelters in western Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
Adraee also displayed a map of Gaza in which he described the areas along the border, colored red, as places that “put your lives and the lives of your family members in danger.”
Meanwhile, the IDF Home Front Command has instructed all towns and villages near the Gaza border to close their schools until further notice. It also canceled train service to the city of Sderot along the Gaza border, and restricted public gatherings near Gaza to a maximum of 10 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
Israel has also informed the European Union and Palestinian officials who had been operating the Rafah border crossing and the private security contractors conducting inspections there that the facility was being shut down for the time being.
Shortly after Israel launched the attack, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stated, “It is time for the countries of the world to take seriously our unwavering commitment to bring all our hostages home and defeat the enemy. Nothing will stop us from fighting to free our hostages, who have been held in brutal Hamas captivity for 527 days. We will show no mercy against our enemies while our hostages languish in Hamas terror tunnels.”
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, warned of even greater destruction in Gaza if the hostages aren’t released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said.
PRESSURE FROM TRUMP LED TO THE CEASEFIRE
President Donald Trump played a vital role in securing the ceasefire agreement shortly before he took office in January. Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, leaned hard on Netanyahu to accept the deal after months of deadlock during the Biden administration. Trump campaigned for president last year on a promise to quickly end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. But he quickly grew impatient with Hamas’ refusal to bargain in good faith and repeatedly threatened Hamas with destruction if all of the hostages, including several Americans, weren’t promptly released.
As a result of that ceasefire, over the past six weeks, Hamas did release 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, President Trump, who was shocked and angered by the poor physical condition of some of the released Israeli hostages, told Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly that Israel could be confident that it would continue to enjoy full diplomatic and military support from the United States if it decided to resume the war against Hamas because it refused to release the hostages it is still holding in Gaza.
Trump also announced that he was expediting the shipment to Israel of the U.S.-made arms and munitions that President Biden had withheld to pressure Netanyahu to delay the IDF’s planned attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah. When Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House in early February, he publicly thanked the president for keeping that promise, which enabled Israel to refill its depleted armories and to plan a resumption of its war against Hamas without needing to worry about exhausting its military stockpiles.
TRUMP DELIVERED THE ARMS THAT BIDEN HELD UP
Among the essential weapons that President Trump delivered to Israel after President Biden held them up were the powerful 2,000 lb. bunker-busting bombs and the giant, armored D-9 bulldozers that Israel used to penetrate and destroy Hamas’ deep underground tunnels and fortresses.
In response to the green light that Trump had given Netanyahu to resume the war against Hamas in Gaza with full U.S. support, Netanyahu was happy to give Trump advance notice of the Israeli air strikes.
According to the original terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which went into effect on January 19, hostages were to be released in small groups each week, while negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire were supposed to start on February 3, with the goal of reaching agreement on a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the fighting in exchange for the release of all of the remaining living hostages.
However, ever since the war started with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not allow the war to end until Hamas’ governing and military capabilities have been completely destroyed. Therefore, Israel refused to participate in talks on phase two, prompting mediators to try to negotiate an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire beyond its original 42-day duration.
HAMAS’ “UNACCEPTABLE” RESPONSE TO AN EXTENDED CEASEFIRE OFFER
Accepting Israel’s refusal to begin negotiations on phase two, Witkoff presented a bridge proposal last week that would have extended phase one of the ceasefire through the end of Pesach (April 19) during which five living hostages and the bodies of half of the dead hostages would be released. However, Witkoff said Sunday that Hamas’ response to his bridge proposal, which Israel had approved, was a “non-starter” and “totally unacceptable.” Trump’s Middle East envoy also warned of serious consequences if Hamas did not quickly change its approach and accept an extension of the existing ceasefire on reasonable terms.
The IDF has confirmed that 35 of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza are dead. Its intelligence assessments indicate that 22 more of the hostages remain alive, but it is not clear whether the final two hostages are alive or dead.
Hamas issued a statement shortly after the IDF attack started warning that Netanyahu’s decision to “overturn the ceasefire agreement” exposes the hostages “to an unknown fate.”
While the Israeli air strikes breaking the ceasefire most probably mean an end to the hostage releases for the time being, they were a success in securing the return of 33 of the Israeli hostages, both alive and dead, providing either joy or closure for their long-suffering loved ones.
END OF THE CEASEFIRE IS BAD NEWS FOR THE HOSTAGES
The families of the hostages have long argued that Israel’s stated war aims of destroying Hamas while securing the safe return of all of the hostages contradict each other, and that the resumption of the fighting in Gaza endangers those hostages who are still alive.
Hamas has called on the mediators who negotiated the latest ceasefire, including the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, to hold Prime Minister Netanyahu fully responsible for breaking the ceasefire. Hamas demanded that Arab and Muslim countries back the “Palestinian resistance” efforts at “breaking the unjust blockade imposed on Gaza.” It also urged the U.N. Security Council to urgently convene and issue a resolution obligating Israel to halt its renewed “aggression.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s decision to resume Israeli air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza has strengthened his political position by inspiring the return of three members of the extreme right-wing Otzma Yehudit party to his governing coalition, including his former national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of the party, as well as former Minister for the Negev and Galil Yitzchok Wasserlauf, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu. All three had resigned from their cabinet posts and the coalition in January in protest against Netanyahu’s acceptance of the ceasefire before the destruction of Hamas had been completed.
Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has been very open in expressing his disappointment with Hamas for refusing to agree to his proposal to extend the ceasefire and thereby avoid the resumption of Israeli air strikes on Gaza. In various media interviews, Witkoff described his experience at the Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar, last week where he spent seven and a half hours with leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority. They were discussing “a very sensible proposal on the table that was intended as a bridge [to extend the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas] to get to a final discussion and final resolution” to the war in Gaza.
Witkoff said that the bridge proposal “would have incorporated some sort of demilitarization of Hamas, which must happen [because] that’s a red line for the Israelis.”
“And maybe [the bridge proposal] could have led to a long-term peace resolution here. And yet Hamas came up with their own construct, [which] essentially disavowed what we discussed.”
“To my mind, that was a pretty poor ending,” Witkoff concluded sadly, “and I hope they [Hamas] reconsider because the alternative is not so good for them.”
TRUMP’S ENVOY ACCUSED HAMAS OF STALLING
Witkoff had previously accused Hamas of stalling the ceasefire negotiations by demanding “impractical” conditions for an extended truce.
“Unfortunately,” Witkoff said, “Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire [which Israel will not accept].”
Witkoff added, “Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not.”
Witkoff was sending Hamas a warning because he knew that Israel had Trump’s permission to resume its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza if the negotiations to free more of the hostages hit a dead end.
Witkoff also said, “Hamas is well aware of the deadline [for extending the ceasefire] and must understand that we will respond accordingly if it passes.”
Trump’s envoy emphasized that “Through our Qatari and Egyptian partners, it was made unequivocally clear to Hamas that the [bridging proposal] must be implemented quickly — and that the American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander must be released immediately.”
In a CNN interview with reporter Jake Tapper, Witkoff said, “I thought the [bridge] proposal was compelling. The Israelis were informed about it and advised about it beforehand. After waiting for about two or three days for an answer from Hamas — which is their usual mode — we got a non-acceptable response.”
Witkoff added, “I believe they [Hamas] have an opportunity, but it is slipping away quickly. What happened with the Houthis [the American air strike in Yemen ordered by President Trump] ought to inform as to where we stand with regard to terrorism and our [low] tolerance level for terrorist actions — and I would encourage Hamas to get much more sensible.”
HAMAS’ CYNICAL HOSTAGE RESPONSE
Last Friday, after rejecting Witkoff’s bridge proposal, Hamas offered to release only one living hostage, dual Israeli-American citizen Edan Alexander, along with the dead bodies of four other dual nationals, but Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed the cynical offer as “psychological warfare.”
Alexander, who grew up in Tenafly, N.J., is the only one of five American hostages still in Gaza believed to still be alive.
A statement released by the Prime Minister’s office said that “While Israel accepted the Witkoff plan, Hamas persisted in its refusal and did not move a millimeter. At the same time, [Hamas] continues to employ manipulation.”
Witkoff also called the Hamas counter-proposal “a non-starter.”
Speaking at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, Secretary of State Rubio said that the Trump administration “cares about all the hostages” and derided Hamas’ negotiating position calling for the piecemeal release of the hostages. Rubio then reiterated President Trump’s insistence that all 59 of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, both dead and alive, be released.
RUBIO BLASTS HAMAS’ “RIDICULOUS” HOSTAGE RELEASE DEMANDS
Rubio said, “These trades that are being made, they’re ridiculous — 400 people for three [hostages]. These are nuts [insane]. And on top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in. . .
“You go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people that have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers. . . and put them in tunnels for almost a year and a half. And we’re acting like this is a normal exchange, [even though] this is an outrage. So, they should all be released. . .
The secretary of state said, “The whole world should. . . say that what Hamas has done is outrageous. It’s ridiculous. It’s sick. It’s disgusting. It should never have happened, and we shouldn’t accept it as a normal negotiation.”
Referring to the Hamas terrorists, Rubio added, “We’re dealing with savages. … These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such.”
Meanwhile, Gaza ceasefire and hostage release negotiations were continuing, right up to the day before Israel launched its air strikes on Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu sent Israeli negotiators to Egypt Sunday, to meet with senior Egyptian officials and discuss the issue of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
TRUMP STRIKES BACK HARD AT THE HOUTHIS
Meanwhile, President Trump launched a large-scale American military operation against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen. The strikes were carried out by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), in response to more than 100 Houthi attacks on American and international vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters since October 2023, as well as dozens of Houthi drone and ballistic missile attacks on Israel.
“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” Trump announced in a Truth Social post over the weekend. “They [the Houthis] have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.
“Joe Biden’s response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going,” Trump wrote. “It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. The last American warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times. Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at U.S. aircraft and targeted our troops and allies. These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and world economy many billions of dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk. . .”
RE-OPENING A VITAL INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY
Trump also wrote, “The Houthi attacks on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important waterways of the world, grinding vast swaths of global commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of freedom of navigation upon which international trade and commerce depends.”
“Our brave warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the waterways of the world.”
Trump’s message was reinforced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who wrote on X, “Houthi attacks on American ships and aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice. Freedom of navigation will be restored.”
CENTCOM confirmed the attacks in a post on social media saying, “CENTCOM forces have initiated a series of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
The air strikes were carried out in part by fighter aircraft based on the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier cruising in the Red Sea, American officials said. The New York Times reported that the targets of the American air strikes were Houthi radars, air defenses, missiles, and drones, as well as at least one senior Houthi military commander. It was also intended, at least in part, as a warning signal to Iran.
According to the same report, President Trump had been angered by a previous Houthi attack, using a surface-to-air missile that missed after being fired at a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet fighter flying over the international waters of the Red Sea, as well as the disappearance of a U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone aircraft over the Red Sea on the same day that the Houthis claimed to have shot one down.
President Trump issued the attack order last Friday, after several days of high-level White House consultations involving Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and General Michael E. Kurilla, the head of Central Command.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the American air strikes on Houthi targets have three short-term goals. They were intended to: (1) prevent Houthi missile launchers from being moved to the coast in position to launch more attacks on shipping; (2) target Houthi leaders, many of whom have gone into hiding, and (3) send a warning message to the leaders of Iran, that they could be the next American target.
PUNISHING THE HOUTHIS FOR DISRUPTING GLOBAL TRADE
Secretary of State Rubio told CBS News over the weekend that the U.S. attacks will continue until the Houthis no longer have the capability to attack global shipping and the U.S. Navy vessels in the international waters of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea.
Trump administration officials have been telling reporters that the American airstrikes over the weekend were only the “opening salvo” of a much broader U.S. campaign. They are designed to punish the Houthis for disrupting global trade and to ensure the safe passage of cargo ships through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, and oil tankers from the Persian Gulf to Europe. Trump also seems determined to keep ratcheting up the economic sanctions and military threats against Iran until it is forced to enter into a new set of negotiations that will neutralize its nuclear threat.
The New York Times also reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu “has been pushing Mr. Trump to authorize a joint U.S.-Israel operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities,” taking advantage of the fact that an Israeli counterattack in October, responding to Iran’s second failed mass missile attack, seriously damaged Iran’s air defenses, and have left Iran’s nuclear facilities vulnerable and exposed.
In addition, because of Israel’s recent military accomplishments in defeating its enemies in both Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the recent fall of Bashar Assad’s government in Syria, Iran’s anti-Israel “Axis of Resistance” has been seriously weakened, providing the U.S. and Israel with a much more dominant military position in the region.
DEFENDING SAUDI ARABIA
But the Houthis are a special case, inviting retaliation for their attacks because, as explained by Noam Raydan, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “Their attacks are not [just] a threat to one country but to global trade.” In addition, the Houthis are also seen as a serious existential threat to Saudi Arabia and the other Persian Gulf States which have been fighting the Houthis for the past eight years, and which have been providing the intelligence behind the planning for the American air attacks on Yemen.
The Houthis confirmed that at least 53 people had been killed and 98 were wounded in the initial CENTCOM attacks which are expected to continue for weeks, according to a Reuters report, because many of the Houthi military targets are buried deep underground. There were also reports that the American air strikes against the Houthis were delayed until now to give U.S. intelligence agencies enough time to accurately locate and identify the targets.
The United States launched a second round of air strikes on Houthi targets Monday, in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the Al Jawf region to the north of the capital city of Sanaa.
The Houthis’ political office described the U.S. attacks as a “war crime,” and warned that, “the aggression will not go unanswered and our armed forces are fully prepared to confront the escalation by escalation until victory is achieved.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz told ABC News that the weekend strikes “actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.”
In a separate appearance on Fox News, Waltz said, “We just hit them with overwhelming force and put Iran on notice that enough is enough.”
In response, the Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked the American aircraft carrier and its support ships in retaliation for the earlier U.S. strikes.
The Houthis said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships,” and then they claimed to have launched a second attack “in retaliation to the continued American aggression against our country.”
A U.S. official later confirmed that the Houthis did fire drones and at least one missile in the first attack starting at about midnight Saturday night local time in Yemen, and 11 drones over the next 12 hours. Ten of the drones were intercepted by U.S. Air Force fighter jets and one was intercepted by a Navy F/A-18 fighter jet flying from the carrier. The single missile fired fell into the water far from the Harry Truman, and none of the Houthi weapons came close to hitting either the carrier or the other U.S. warships in its strike group.
The IDF also confirmed Sunday that it had detected a missile launch from Yemen, which apparently landed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, near the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.
HOUTHI PIRATES HIJACKED A SHIP AT SEA
Houthi media accused the Americans of targeting a cotton ginning factory in the western region of Hodeidah as well as the command cabin of the M/V Galaxy Leader, a roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier ship that was hijacked by Houthis while it was sailing in the Red Sea in November 2023.
The Bahamas-flagged, Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader is owned by a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham “Rami” Ungar. The Houthis tried to use Ungar’s Israeli citizenship as a justification for their act of piracy.
Videos of the targets after the first round of U.S. airstrikes showed plumes of black smoke over the airport complex in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa, which includes a sprawling military base. Arab media reports said that the American attack focused on other targets, such as a television station and a military command-and-control center in the Al-Jiraf neighborhood of Sanaa, which is a Houthi stronghold comparable to the Hezbollah stronghold in the Dahieh district of Beirut. Another prime target for the American air strikes was the Houthis’ vast weapons stockpiles, some of which are hidden deep underground.
The Houthis also reported American air strikes early Sunday on the provinces of Hodeidah, Bayda, and Marib. Another air strike on a power station in the town of Dahyan in Saada, the home base of the Houthi tribe, reportedly led to a power outage.
Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the Houthi media office, insisted that despite the American air strikes, “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges.”
Another Houthi spokesman, Mohamed Abdulsalam, called Trump’s claims that the Houthis threaten international shipping routes “false and misleading.”
MORE THAN 300 HOUTHI ATTACKS ON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
According to a Pentagon spokesman, since Hamas initiated its attacks against Israel with its October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, the Houthis, in support of Hamas, have attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times in the waters around Yemen, sinking two ships and killing four sailors. Additionally, they have fired more than 350 drones and missiles at Israel.
The Houthis suspended their attacks with the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on January 19. The 42-day Phase 1 of the truce formally expired on March 1, but until this past weekend, the truce in Gaza was still being honored as negotiations continued on a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire.
The last Houthi attack on an American commercial ship took place in December. However, because the ceasefire in Gaza was temporary, and the Houthis could renew their attacks on shipping at any time, the major international shipping companies remained unwilling to send their vessels sailing from Asia to Europe through the shorter route of the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.
On February 28, the Houthis issued another warning that missile attacks against Tel Aviv would resume if the ceasefire in Gaza ended, and Israel renewed its military actions against Hamas there.
On March 12, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, threatened to resume the attacks on “any Israeli vessel” in nearby maritime routes in response to Israel’s decision to halt further shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza. On Sunday, after the first round of American air strikes on Yemen, the Houthi leader also threatened to target U.S. ships in the Red Sea. “If they continue their aggression, we will continue the escalation,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
The airstrikes on Yemen were a significant escalation in the response by the U.S. to the brazen acts of piracy by the Houthis against U.S. ships and its British allies. Their previous responses, trying to safeguard the maritime shipping lanes to the Suez Canal for all commercial ships under the principle of protecting the freedom of the seas, were enforced with sporadic air attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen. However, they did not succeed in deterring the Houthis from continuing their harassment of international shipping, as well as their attacks on U.S. warships and targets inside Israel.
TRUMP TRYING TO END A THREAT TO GLOBAL TRADE THAT BIDEN TOLERATED
President Trump has blamed the Biden administration’s previous handling of the situation for allowing the Houthis to cause serious disruptions in global trade by threatening the freedom of the seas. Because of the Houthi attacks, the big global container shipping firms have rerouted their vessels sailing from Asia to Europe to avoid the traditional Red Sea and Suez Canal sea lanes, forcing them to use the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa.
According to a 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report cited by the Trump White House, an average of 25,000 merchant ships pass through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal annually. But since the Houthi attacks on shipping began, that number dropped to around 10,000 ships each year. Sailing around the southern tip of Africa takes an average of ten days longer than going through the Red Sea, and the additional fuel costs are approximately one million dollars per trip.
But stopping the Houthi attacks on shipping will not be easy. The Houthis are a hardy tribal group that has been in control of much of northern Yemen since they stormed the capital city of Saana in 2014. Since then, the Houthis have been able to hold off a well-armed Saudi-led coalition that used sophisticated American-supplied weapons, including jet aircraft, to bombard the Houthis, with little effect. The Houthis also continued to attack all commercial shipping in the Red Sea and nearby international waters despite more than 200 airstrikes by American and British forces during the last year and a quarter of the Biden administration.
Biden was afraid to do more for fear of triggering a region-wide war between Iran and its allies on one side, and the U.S., Israel, and their allies on the other. However, President Trump apparently believes that, because he is so unpredictable, and is willing to use “overwhelming force” against both the Houthis and Iran, their leaders would be unwilling to take such a chance as long as he is president.
The New York Times has also reported that there is evidence that Iran has recently been supplying the Houthis with drones using new technology that makes them more difficult to detect and gives them a longer range.
BIDEN PLAYED GAMES WITH TERRORISM
The U.S. State Department called the Houthis a threat to regional security and officially re-designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 4. President Biden had removed them from the list early in his presidency, as a gesture to earn their cooperation with peace talks that failed to end Yemen’s civil war. Last year, in response to the first Houthi attacks against U.S. warships in the Red Sea, the Biden team labeled the Houthis a “specially designated global terrorist” organization, which is a less severe category than the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization label.
Trump has also directly accused Iran of funding and arming the Houthis, and warned of severe consequences for Iran if the Houthi attacks continue on American vessels, international shipping, and Israel. “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American people, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in presidential history, or worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by declaring that the U.S. government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.”
Instead, in an X post, Araghchi called upon the United States to, “end support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people.”
Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also denied that Iran has been arming the Houthis and urging them to use the weapons to attack American military targets and Israel, even though United Nations weapons inspectors have seized many shipments of such contraband goods and traced them back to Iran.
As a gesture of good faith, Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in advance about the U.S. intention to attack the Houthis, because the Houthis have become the most active member of Iran’s “ring of fire” alliance against Israel, and Iran is a major supplier of drones and other weaponry for Russia’s use in its war in Ukraine.
IRAN HAS ENOUGH URANIUM TO BUILD 6 NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The U.S. attack on the Houthis also came as President Trump was ramping up sanctions on Iran to force it back to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. The main concern now is the dramatic acceleration of Iran’s efforts to enrich uranium to 60% purity, which is just one short enrichment step away from the 90% purity of the fissionable U-235 isotope required to build a uranium-fueled nuclear weapon, similar to the one dropped by the United States on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. By contrast, commercial reactors generating electric power generally require 5% or less enriched uranium.
While Iran still insists that it does not intend to build a nuclear weapon, there is no other practical use for uranium that has been enriched to the 60% level. Furthermore, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that Iran now has enough 60% enriched uranium on hand to quickly build at least 6 nuclear weapons.
The U.S. attacks on the Houthis also came just days after Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, inviting Iran to engage in a new round of talks over its nuclear program. Khamenei’s response to the letter was to reject holding negotiations with the United States.
Trump vowed that the U.S. military would continue using overwhelming force until its objectives were met. “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY,” he declared. “IF THEY DON’T, [DESTRUCTION] WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”
Military analysts suggest that the CENTCOM operations against the Houthis could mark a turning point in the conflict, as well as signaling a much more aggressive U.S. stance against Iranian-backed militias and terrorist organizations in the region.
