Middle East: Houthi rebels announce sea blockade against Saudi ships

News blog about the war in the Middle East

Houthis announce sea blockade

The Houthis have announced a new blockade. A ship burns in the Strait of Hormuz. All developments in the news blog.

The one with that Iran Allied Houthi militia in Yemen has again threatened attacks in the region and announced a “blockade” on Saudi ships. For Saudi Arabia From now on there will be a “ban on shipping,” said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari in a video message. The Houthis are also “fully ready for all options,” he said, referring to possible new attacks.

An informal ceasefire has been in effect since 2022 in the Houthis’ war with the internationally recognized government in Yemen, which is supported by Saudi Arabia. But after a new confrontation a week ago, there are fears that the war could reignite.

Saudi Arabia entered the civil war in 2015 and imposed an air, sea and land blockade with the stated aim of preventing arms smuggling to the Houthis. In fact, the blockade is also a means of economic war to put pressure on the militia and control which goods come into the country. This particularly affects the civilian population, of which more than 22 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid.

According to Hamas, Khalil al-Haja is the new head of the Islamist organization. There was previously an internal election for the position within the terrorist organization. Since Israel’s killing of Jihia al-Sinwar in October 2024, Hamas has been led by a five-member leadership council that also included al-Haja. He is also a negotiator in the negotiations for a permanent peace settlement for the Gaza Strip.

Al-Haja, born in the Gaza Strip, spends most of his time in Qatar. Last year, Israel’s… air force attempted to attack Hamas leadership in the capital Doha – al-Haja was reportedly a target. However, according to Hamas, the attack failed. Four of his sons were killed in Israeli attacks, including one in the Doha attack.

After Iranian attacks on Jordan A third US soldier has now been declared dead. The US Central Command reported finding unidentified human remains, writes NBC News. An investigation is currently underway to determine whether this is the missing soldier.

The three soldiers were killed on Friday in an Iranian attack on US and partner forces in Jordan. Separately, another US soldier was killed in northern Iraq in a controlled explosion of unexploded ammunition from an Iranian drone, the Central Command said. Another soldier was slightly injured. “Our deepest sympathy goes out to these families,” NBC News quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying. “These are heroes who sacrificed their lives for us.”