Warning against storming Rafah, the Houthis announce a fourth stage of escalation against Israel

The Yemeni Houthi group announced on Friday the start of a fourth phase of escalation in its attacks in solidarity with Gaza, against the backdrop of "Israel's serious preparations to carry out an aggressive military operation" against the city of Rafah in the southern Palestinian Strip.

The military spokesman for the group's forces, Yahya Saree, confirmed this through a statement, which he read in front of tens of thousands of demonstrators in the capital, Sanaa (controlled by the Houthis), in solidarity with Gaza.

The statement came hours after the group's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced on Thursday evening that his group was "preparing for a fourth round of escalation" if the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip continued.

Last October, the first phase of the Houthis' military escalation began by targeting sites in southern Israel with missiles and drones, before the group moved to the second phase last November, by targeting ships affiliated with or linked to Israel.

The third stage was the targeting of American and British ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, since the beginning of this year.

Saree explained: “We are following the developments of the battle in the Gaza Strip, including the continuation of the Israeli and American aggression and serious preparations for carrying out an aggressive military operation against the Rafah area.”

He added: "We are also following the offer presented to the resistance, in which the enemy wants to extract the prisoners' card without a permanent ceasefire."

He revealed that the fourth stage of escalation "includes targeting all ships that violate the Israeli navigation ban and are heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea in any area controlled by the Houthi forces," according to the same statement.

He continued: "If the Israeli enemy intends to launch an aggressive military operation against Rafah, we will impose comprehensive sanctions on all ships of companies that are related to supplying and entering occupied Palestinian ports of any nationality."

He pointed out that his group would prevent, during this stage of escalation, "all ships of companies linked to the occupation ports from passing through our area of ​​operations, regardless of their destination."

He threatened, saying: "We will not hesitate to prepare and prepare for broader and stronger stages of escalation until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted."