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February 12, 2025 | 03:28 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Iran-backed Houthi group, which controls much of western Yemen including the capital, is ready to launch attacks on Israel if it continues its offensive on Gaza and does not commit to a ceasefire deal, the group's leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, Reuters reported.
The Houthis have attacked Israeli ships and other vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping lanes, in what they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during Israel's war with Hamas.
"Our hands are on the trigger and we are ready to escalate immediately against the Israeli enemy if they escalate again in the Gaza Strip," al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
The Gaza ceasefire deal appeared fragile after Hamas said it would stop releasing Israeli hostages over what the Palestinian militant group called Israel's violation of the deal.
In response, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the military to be at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and for internal defense.
The Houthis, part of a regional anti-Israel and anti-Western Iran alliance known as the Axis of Resistance, have also launched missiles and drones toward Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north.
It is not just the Houthis that are threatening Israel. Iraqi experts have warned that if the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal collapses, Iran-backed militias in Iraq could resume attacks on US and Israeli targets in the region, leading to a significant escalation.
The warnings come after US President Donald Trump’s latest ultimatum, in which he threatened that “all hell will break loose” if Israeli prisoners held by Hamas are not released by Saturday.
Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq have announced a halt to attacks on Israeli targets in the pre-1948 Palestinian territories following a Hamas-Israel ceasefire launched on January 19. However, Iraqi experts told The New Arab that these militias are ready to resume attacks if Israel lifts the truce.
On Monday, Trump issued a deadline of Saturday afternoon for the release of all Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, and warned that if this did not happen, he would support canceling the Hamas-Israel ceasefire.
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