On Sunday, the Yemen-based Houthi rebels announced that they had taken control of a cargo ship in the Red Sea en route to India, reportedly belonging to an Israeli businessman.
Israeli media sources have described the ship as British-owned and Japanese-operated with no Israeli nationals on board.
Public shipping databases, however, have associated the owners of the ship with the company Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree explained that the operation was in response to the current human rights violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and called on the international community to put an end to Israeli aggression against Gaza.
The Houthis’ Continuous Involvement
It is not the first time that the Houthi rebels carry out operations since October 7. Throughout the last month and a half, the group has launched several rocket strikes and drone operations on Israeli targets.
Their involvement was also acknowledged by regional ally Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in a speech he delivered on November 3, where he praised the Houthis for their support of Palestinian resistance.
The Houthis have announced that they plan on targeting any ship belonging to Israel or its supporters in the Red Sea and confirmed the continuation of their operations until Israeli aggressions in Gaza and the West Bank stop.
A Widening Conflict
As of today, while the current round of fighting hasn’t completely developed into an all-out regional war, numerous fronts have remained highly heated and have even hosted a widening scope of military operations.
On the Lebanese front, the number of deaths almost reached 100 as Israeli bombing dives deeper into Lebanese territory by the day, targeting not only combatants but also civilians and journalists.
Hezbollah, on its part, has also been reporting numerous strikes on Israeli targets reaching as far as Haifa and Akka. Multiple other parties such as the Lebanese Communist Party and the Amal Movement or their members have carried out operations, with the latter losing one member while two others were injured.
So far, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank looks grim as Israeli forces continue to target hospitals and residential neighborhoods, displacing a million Palestinians and killing many others in the process.
In the face of these ongoing atrocities, the Palestinian resistance have responded with numerous strikes on the ground, taking down Israeli tanks, soldiers and overall military forces. Official Israeli media states that the death toll of soldiers in Gaza is only 66, but the estimated death toll is likely much higher.
Overall, the conflict is far from abating as the number of players involved increase and the degrees of violations become far too great to ignore by international actors.
What dominates the minds of people worldwide is a state of mind of both concern and anticipation – concern over the lives of Palestinian people amidst the ongoing genocide and anticipation of an end to the onslaught and the achievement of justice, peace and freedom.