GAZA CITY: Hamas praised Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels Wednesday after they announced they would resume attacks on Israeli-linked shipping, calling it a demonstration of “true commitment” to the Palestinian cause.
“It is a true commitment of support for our Palestinian people and their resistance, and it exerts real pressure to break the unjust siege on Gaza,” Hamas said in a statement.
The Houthis, who hold the Yemeni capital Sanaa and swathes of the Red Sea coast, announced late Tuesday that they would resume attacks following the expiry of their deadline for Israel to stop blocking aid deliveries into Gaza.
The Houthis said they were resuming their “ban on the passage of all Israeli ships” in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea after Israel failed to meet a four-day deadline they had set for Gaza aid deliveries to resume.
Yemen’s Houthis to resume attacks on Israeli ships after Gaza aid deadline ended
Israel blocked all aid into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip earlier this month in an effort to pressure Hamas into agreeing an extension to the existing ceasefire in Gaza rather than moving onto a second stage.
Israel piled on more pressure on Sunday, announcing it would cut off the supply of electricity to a water desalination plant in Gaza.
However, Hamas said on Tuesday that a new round of ceasefire talks had begun in Qatar.
During the Gaza war, the Houthis launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on Israeli-linked shipping that drew retaliatory air strikes by the United States and Britain.
The Houthis halted their attacks when the Gaza ceasefire took effect in January but said on Tuesday that they would resume them until Israel allows aid deliveries back into Gaza.
Hamas welcomed the statement, saying it “reflects the genuine stance of the Yemeni people”.
“We call on the nations of the Arab and Muslim world, as well as all free people around the globe, to intensify their effective actions to pressure the Zionist occupation and its supporters until the aggression ends, the siege on Gaza is lifted and humanitarian aid reaches our besieged people,” Hamas said.
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