Houthis rally in Sanaa Yemen. ABC News/AP.
Tensions in the Red Sea have increased even higher after Israel and the Houthis trade attacks and the Biden administration considers a terror designation for the Houthis. ABC News. On Friday the Houthis hit Tel Aviv with a drone strike that killed one person. The Israelis launched an airstrike in response that killed three people in the port of Hodeidah. Both strikes were at extreme range and shows the capability of the two militaries. The US Navy has been in a heavy fight with the Houthis as they have launched missiles and drones at Israel and shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In response to the attacks the Biden administration is considering re-designating the Houthis as a FTO organization. The designation would make providing humanitarian aid to Yemen more difficult but it was done before during the Trump administration before it was removed by Biden. The war shows no signs of ending soon as the Houthis won't commit to a cease-fire until there is one in Gaza.
My Comment:
Given how insane the media cycle has been lately, this story has largely gone under the radar. However, the strikes between Yemen and Israel is a major escalation in the war and so is the potential designation as the Houthis as a terror group. With Israel and Yemen now being official combatants things are getting worse, not better in the Middle East.
The drone attack on Tel Aviv was impressive and shows how technologically advanced the Houthis are. The strike was over 1000 miles and though it didn't accomplish all that much it was a major propaganda victory for them.
It also raises questions about both Israel's Iron Dome system and the US Navy's ability to take down these drones. How was this drone able to travel the 1000 miles from its launch site to Tel Aviv? Did they not detect it or did they just not react in time? Or was it flying so low that it wasn't detected by radar? Regardless, it's not great that the drone was able to get there. With this success I bet the Houthis will do it again.
The Israeli strike was pretty impressive too. A 1000 mile strike is about what it would be for an attack on Iran, so it shows to the world what their capabilities are. They were able to successfully strike back in an impressive way.
I also think that this will probably lead to more tit-for-tat attacks from both sides. It won't be a huge deal as neither side is powerful enough to destroy the other but it could complicate things in the region. Of course the good thing might be that the Houthis will focus more on direct attacks on Israel instead of shipping but that might just be wishful thinking.
As for the FTO designation, it is something that the Biden administration should have never gotten rid of in the first place. The Houthis are clearly terrorists and were that way when they were targeting the Saudis instead of Israel. It's ridiculous that they used humanitarian aid as a reason to lift the restriction in the first place. We should stop helping our enemies and if the people of Yemen are having trouble with food security there is a chance they will rise up against the Houthis and replace them. Declaring them a terror group won't really do that much other than cut them off from support from aid groups but it is the right thing to do.
Finally, I have to note that Biden delivered a major snub to Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu today by not having either himself or Kamala Harris meet him as he arrived for a visit in the United States today. I am not sure if this was an intentional diplomatic insult, like how China treats the Biden administration, or if it was due to the chaos present in the White House right now. But either way it has not been received well by Israel, especially after the war has entered a new phase.
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