Since Oct. 2023, the government of Yemen, led by the organization Ansarallah, or the “Houthis”, has maintained a humanitarian blockade of the Red Sea in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Despite attempts by the US and UK to force Yemen to abandon its mission, the blockade has only intensified, escalating to include all US and Israeli shipping, and even the targeting of US warships. The Real News reports from Yemen, where defiance against outside pressure and solidarity with the Palestinian cause remains unshaken.

Producer: Belal Awad, Leo Erhardt
Videographer: Dhaifallah Homran
Video Editor: Leo Erhardt

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Transcript

TRNN – Yemen_transcript

Narrator:

In response to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, an aggression which has to date claimed the lives of at least 30,000 people, the Yemeni state, led by the Houthis, has been carrying out a naval blockade, targeting Israeli ships and ships destined for Israeli ports which pass through the Red Sea. The Houthis vow to continue the blockade as long as Israel continues its genocide.

Protester:

You are the root of evil and tyranny! You are the terrorists.

Narrator:

Rashid al haddad, aka “Tim-houthie Chalamet”, a young Yemeni instagram user, has become an overnight sensation, with his selfie videos – posting in front of seized ships and reaching millions.

Rashid al haddad – Influencer:

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, are for Palestine. The blockade in the Red Sea is for the sake of Palestine. If the war on Gaza is stopped and the siege lifted, they will end the war in the Red Sea – that’s all.

Protester:

Yemen fears no one but Allah. It will be steadfast, it will resist and it will attack all who attack it.

Narrator:

Yemen, a country in the West, known mainly for being the victim of a devastating, near decade long civil war and one of the world’s poorest nations.Strategically located between the gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, Yemen has for centuries been a crossroads – between Africa and Asia and between East and West. It is this strategic location, which has allowed it to take its current stand, taking on the combined might of the entire West to put a stop to a Western genocide.

Yahya Sarea – Houthi military spokesman:

In response to the demands of our great Yemeni people and the calls of the free people of our Arab and Islamic nation to fully stand with the choices of the Palestinian people and their proud resistance.
The naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out this morning a targeting operation against two Israeli ships in Bab al-Mandab.

Narrator:

Unlike Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza, the threatening of commercial interests, provoked an immediate and spirited response, from the West:

Annalena Baerbock – Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs:

This is a question for the international community, there is a right to protect these ships’ freedom of navigation.

Rishi Sunak – Prime Minister of United Kingdom:

Since the 19th of November Iran-backed Houthis have launched over 25 illegal and unacceptable attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Narrator:

The flurry of condemnations was swiftly followed by action: the US launched a naval operation dubbed “operation prosperity guardian” and soon after further escalation:

Amy Goodman – Host of ‘Democracy Now!’:

The united states and Britain launched dozens of military strikes on Yemen on Thursday night raising fears of an escalation of conflict in the region

David Cameron – UK Foreign Secretary:

Military action should always be the last resort but since the 19th of November, we’ve had 26 attacks on ships. Freedom of navigation really matters, its not just the goods that are coming to this country the dangers of our economy being dislocated its also grain ships on their way to Ethiopia and Sudan to feed some of the poorest and hungriest people in the world: this really matters.

Narrator:

While Cameron’s heart bleeds for the poor and hungry, he shows rather less concern for the Israeli-made and UK supported humanitarian catastrophe taking place in Gaza. The Houthis have target Israel with the clear stated goal of ending the genocide. The UK and the US response however has been violent pounding the country with strikes, and killing many, including civilians, in the process.

And the results? Well, Joe Biden himself has explicitly acknowledged that the strikes are not really having the desired effect:

Journalist:

Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?

Joe Biden:

Well, when you say working are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna continue? Yes.

Protester:

We the people of Yemen, say to the whole world and to the United States: the big Satan, that any actions and aggression will only increase our commitment and joy in achieving our goal of ending the aggression and siege on the people of Palestine.

Narrator:

For the people of Yemen, air-strikes have been a daily reality for nearly a decade, and yet public sentiment remains clearly supportive of the Houthis. A sentiment largely reflected in the country’s capital, Sanaa, where protesters regularly pour into the streets in their tens of thousands – in support for Palestine and in defiance of the US and Israel, most recently mobilizing in reaction to the Houthis being designated a terrorist entity.

Khaled Al-Madani – Houthi Official:

It is an honour for us. A great honour! That the mother of terror, the caretaker of terror, the builder of terror in the world who killed entire peoples, who dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and killed hundreds of thousands has designated us a terrorist organization. For the most honorable, ethical and humanitarian stance we stand with our brothers in Gaza.

They want us to back down so they applied this pressure, just like the air strikes, but the people of Yemen are firm in their faith: it is not possible to change their position. Neither military pressure, nor labeling us a terror organization it’s an ethical position, it’s impossible to change it.

Hamid Rizk – Political analyst:

The decision to designate the Houthis a terrorist organization reflects American failure. America failed in its threats, it failed in its political pressure, it failed in securing the Red Sea and it failed in terrorizing the Yemeni people, so it resorted to this political and economic step.

Narrator:

The Houthis, supported by the majority of Yemenis and the Arab world, have not backed down: in fact they have redoubled their attacks, targeting vessels from the US, Germany, the UK and even the Israeli port of Eilat, with big impact. Corporate newsletters and government economic announcements worldwide are acknowledging the devastating impacts on global supply chains – from the oil and gas industry, to pharmaceuticals to global shipping.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi – leader of Houthis:

We will confront American aggression, no aggression will go without a response.

Yahya Sarea – Houthi military spokesman:

In response to the US-UK aggression on our country, The naval forces of Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting a US warship in the Gulf of Aden with several appropriate naval missiles. The hit was direct and accurate.

Narrator:

The apparent calm and good humor with which ordinary Yemenis have taken news of becoming the West’s latest target, is remarkable. Indeed, at times, images out of the country come across as playful – even mocking – with videos on social media showing huge wedding parties, on seized vessels, and tourist groups taking photos.

Rashid al haddad – Influencer:

I saw that my videos reached millions but I was happy only because the message was received. That my message was received and people were impacted and that many foreigners stood with me. Now they support me and say: continue, post about Palestine, we are with you and believe in you. The Palestinian cause is a cause of the oppressed. It is the responsibility of every human to see this. There are people dying of hunger, of thirst, being killed: 1 or 2 year old children. Children being killed in their mother’s belly from air strikes. I mean, we’re against this. They can’t distance us from the Palestinian cause or from the Red Sea, no matter what. We are standing with the cause and we will blockade them in the Red Sea until Palestine is free. The Yemeni people stand with Palestine because Palestine is our second country. Any Yemeni citizen, even if he isn’t a Houthi fighter, it’s normal.

Narrator:

For Israel, the US and their allies, the Houthi blockade has no doubt been a major headache, with very real economic impacts. A war that even before the blockade was costing billions of dollars, has since seen the economic costs explode – with the Israeli port of Eilat reportedly sitting largely empty – as ships circumnavigate Africa to avoid the Yemenis. With no sign of the Houthies backing down, and no sign either of Israel ending its genocidal war, it looks like that headache could be set to develop into a migraine.

This post was originally published on The Real News Network.