Like the ineffective U.S.-U.K. bombing campaign against the Houthis that began in January, these Israeli strikes play into the hands of the Houthis, wrote Daniel Larison, an American columnist who writes for several newsletters.
He added “ Direct conflict with both the U.S. and Israel is a significant boost for the Houthis’ domestic political standing.”
Larison quoted journalist Iona Craig who observed on BlueSky that “the strikes are a gift to the Houthis: “For a group whose existence, evolution and expansion depends on being at war they’re being gifted everything they need.”
In addition to being a disproportionate response to the drone attack, the strikes on Hodeidah seem certain to provoke the Houthis to launch more attacks on Israel.
After more than nine years since the war broke out in Yemen, it should be clear that it doesn’t achieve anything except to inflict misery and death on Yemeni civilians.
Escalation against the Houthis isn’t going to make Israel more secure, noted Iona Craig , but it will further strain Israel’s resources as it brings the region closer to a wider war.
Craig added “the people that will suffer the most from Israel’s strikes are, as always, the civilian population of Yemen that has already endured a decade of war and deprivation.”
Indeed, the U.S. has refrained from targeting the port in its bombing campaign because of concerns that doing so would worsen the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.