The Houthi fighters in Yemen have defied US and UK strikes and vowed to continue their attacks in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza.
In a sign of the conflict further escalating, the Houthi movement released a new video today showcasing their fighters “training for war”.
In the video, the Yemeni troops lay siege to a fake Israeli settlement, rip down posters of Benjamin Netanyahu, and seize Jewish hostages.
They then drag the hostages away in a jeep before blowing up the settlement.
The video, titled ‘Ready for the Battle of the Promised Conquest and Holy Jihad,’ was released a day after the UK and US struck 60 targets in 16 locations in Yemen.
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In another part of the video, the Houthi soldiers showcase their sniper training as well as precise missile targets.
The soldiers can be heard chanting: “We will not give up!”
The US and UK claim the strikes in Yemen were intended to degrade the Houthis attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
However, many across the Middle East linked the intervention to the war in Gaza.
Hassan Ahmadian, Professor of Middle East studies at the University of Tehran, Hassan Ahmadian, said the US and UK strikes would boost support for the Houthis in Yemen.
He told the BBC that many Yemenis were “rallying around the flag”.
Several Yemenis told Reuters that they backed the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea.
One local Nour al-Din Shamiri said: “This brutal British aggression on Yemen is because the Yemeni people are standing with Gaza and with the resistant Palestinian people.”
A retired government worker, Hussein Kabsi, said: “Our stance is unwavering – we will stand with our brothers in Palestine and Gaza until victory and until all Palestinian land is liberated – not just Gaza.”
A senior US military official has admitted that more attacks by the Houthis are expected.
The director of the US Joint Staff, Lt Gen Douglas Sims, said the Houthis had fired at least one missile already in response to the US-UK attacks.
He said: “Their rhetoric has been pretty strong, and pretty high, and we expect that they will attempt some sort of retaliation.
“I would hope that they don’t retaliate, but we’re prepared in the event that they do.”
A Houthi spokesman told Reuters the strikes had no significant impact on the group’s ability to affect shipping.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, urged maximum restraint by all parties involved in Yemen and warned of an increasingly uncertain situation in the region.
