Next target Houthi leader! Who are the Houthis, who is their commander and why is Israel their enemy?

Israel-Houthi war: Amidst the looming threat of a full-blown Iran-Israel war, Israel, who recently drew a stalemate against the Hezbollah in Lebanon now faces an increasing threat from another Iran-backed group, the Yemeni Houthis, who have recently intensified their attacks against the Jewish nation.

The Houthis have carried out numerous drone attacks and missile strikes targeting Israeli military assets, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that the fate of the Yemeni Houthi rebels will be same which has greeted other militants groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, who have attacked Israel.

But who are the Houthis, who is their leader and what the reason behind their animosity with Israel. Here’s all you should know.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthi rebels are an Islamic political and military organization active in Yemen. The Houthis emerged in the 1990s when they rebelled against ruling regime in Yemen and were supported by Iran.

The Houthi movement, officially named the  ‘Ansar Allah’ or ‘helpers of Allah’, is prominently made up of Zaydi Shias, and their leadership is largely drawn from the Houthi tribe, hence the name, Houthis. The Houthi rebels has played a central role in the Yemeni civil war, and the group main objective is to depose the Yemen government and impose strict Islamic laws in the Arab country.

The Houthi Shias are minority in Yemen, around 35 percent, with Sunni Muslims forming a majority of the country’s population (around 60 percent). However, the Houthis have gained widespread influence in Yemen over the years, thanks in large to the generous financial and military aid received from Iran.

Who leads the Houthis?

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi Abu Jibril, popularly known as Abu Jibril, is the current top commander of the Houthi group. Abu Jibril is the brother of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Houthi rebel leader who was killed by the Yemeni army during the 2004 rebellion.

Though not much is know about Abu Jibril, reports say he is leading figure in the Houthi rebel movement and is among the rebel militia’s top ranking officials.

Why Houthis consider Israel as their enemy?

Although there are several reasons why the Houthi rebels are hostile towards Israel, the primary one is that the Houthis are part of Iran ‘axis of resistance’, along with other militant groups such as the Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with several other Shi’ite group in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the region.

These militant organizations, which have helped Iran become a major power in the Middle East region, receives open support from Tehran, including financial and military support, armaments, and training.

Additionally, the Houthis, akin to almost every other Muslim nation in the Middle East and the world, vociferously Israel’s alleged oppression of Palestinians, especially its brutal military campaign post October 7 Hamas attack, which has killed over 45,000 people, half of which are reportedly children.

The Houthis also allege that Israel conducts military ops against them in Yemen, and covertly supports Saudi Arabia, who are fighting the Houthi rebels.

Recent escalation

Recently, the Israel-Houthi conflict seems to have escalated to another level, with the rebel group firing a ballistic missile towards the Jewish state, which bypassed its its famed air defense system, included the much-touted Iron Dome and Arrow 3, and struck Tel Aviv.

Later, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that the missile indeed struck Tel Aviv, allegedly striking a playground in the middle of a residential area in the city, injuring at least 16 people.

The missile strike came barely two days after Israel said it conducted planned airstrikes on Houthi targets and major ports in Yemen on Thursday morning. The operation was aimed to paralyze three ports controlled by the Iran-backed group and cripple their operational capabilities, the IDF had said in an earlier statement, describing the strikes as an “economic blow” to the Houthis.

Yemen civil war

The Houthis are in control of the majority of the country since late 2014 and have forced the internationally recognized Yemeni government out of the capital, Sanaa.  Since April 2022, the Yemeni government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council, mainly controls the southern and eastern regions, and operates out of Aden, which serves as a makeshift capital.

Yemen’s decade-long civil war has taken a devastating toll on its people, with UN agencies estimating over  377,000 dead due to direct or indirect consequences of conflict by the end of 2021, describing the situation in the Arab country as ‘the world’s largest humanitarian crisis’.

Currently, approximately 21.6 million people (two-thirds of Yemen’s population) depend on humanitarian assistance. Over the past decade, numerous international efforts to promote peace in the country have had limited success, with the only notable ceasefire agreement coming in April 2022, which lasted for six months.

However, both sides have largely maintained a ‘de facto ceasefire’ since then, but the Houthis conflicts with other regional powers, especially Israel, have taken a heavy toll on the country.