Peloni: Freedom of the seas for all but Israel? Trump said the Houthis had “capitulated”, but this doesn’t this sound like capitulation. The Houthis are in fact taking a victory dance as they explain that it has been the US rather than they who have conceded.
Houthis demonstration in Yemen, Sana’a. (Photo by Unknown author – VOA News, Public Domain)
The Houthi rebel group was quick to note that the ceasefire deal between it and the United States does not include Israel.
Hizam al-Assad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said the group will continue its attacks against Israel.
“Our position remains stable in continuing military operations and shelling the strongholds of the Zionist enemy, in support of our brothers in Gaza,” al-Assad said. He also repeated the claim that the U.S. had capitulated, not the Houthis.
“Anyone who tries to protect the Zionist entity from our attacks should look closely at the fate of the Americans and the defeat they suffered,” he continued.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief Houthi negotiator, also told Reuters that the deal does not include Israel.
“The agreement does not include Israel in any way, shape or form,” Abdulsalam said.
Abdulsalam also repeated the claim of other Houthi officials that the United States had backed down, not the Houthis.
“What changed is the American position, but our position remains firm,” Abdulsalam stated.
The Houthi negotiator’s comments, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said the Houthis didn’t want to fight.
“They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,” he said. “But, more importantly, we will take their word.”
Abdulsalam claimed Trump’s comments were “a reflection of Washington’s frustration after failing to protect Israeli ships and contain the fallout of its involvement.”
The negotiator also clarified that the negotiations were not directly with the United States, but brokered by Oman.
Abdulsalam echoed previous statements by Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, the de facto Houthi vice president and cousin of Ansar Allah party leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, who claimed that Houthi “operations against American warships were a response to the American aggression aimed at halting Yemen’s support for Gaza.”
Abdulsalam said, “The Americans have involved themselves in supporting the Israeli enemy, and we have responded to them.”
He also said the American decision to stop attacking would strengthen the Houthi support for Gaza.
“What the Americans stated is an expression of incompetence and failure, and they were unable to protect Israeli ships,” Abdulsalam added. “Support for Gaza will develop for the better because the US aggression came to support the Israeli enemy.”
Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi politician, said the rebel group will continue to attack Israel, “even if we have to fight until Judgment Day.”
Houthi leaders also made clear that they plan to retaliate for Israel’s strike which destroyed the Sana’a airport on Tuesday evening.
Houthi official Hizam al-Assad – who often threatens Israel in posts to social media written in Hebrew – said the missile attacks on Israel would continue. “Does the Zionist entity have enough shelters?” he wrote. “And will those shelters really protect the settlers from the approaching barrage of fire? The tough questions are yet to come, and the days bring surprises.”
According to a report in the New York Times, Iran encouraged the Houthis to agree to a ceasefire as part of the nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the United States.
Just last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote a message to Iran on ?, warning that the Islamic Republic’s support for the Houthis could have significant consequences.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the ceasefire between the Houthis and the U.S. should not be conflated with the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
She told Kurdish news site Rudaw, that the U.S. expects “another round of talks will take place in the near future.”
Israel has been accused of war crimes, so why not go all in and bring back the use napalm!