Beyond solidarity: The Houthis’ exploitation of the Israel-Gaza war

The Houthis claim that their attacks in the Red Sea are in solidarity with Palestine. They have gained a lot of attention on a global scale, even rallying support for their actions in the West from those who claim it as heroic, with chants equating the Houthis with Yemen, suggesting they are representative of Yemen’s government and asking them to turn every ship around.

The attacks, once analyzed, are clearly a shallow attempt on the Houthis’ part to bolster their reputation, rather than seeking to raise awareness of the Palestinians’ plight. They are an attempt to exploit the war in Gaza to elevate their profile on the world stage and even legitimacy in some states.

The seizure of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in November amounted to little more than piracy. While the ship itself was co-owned by an Israeli businessman, it was chartered and used by a Japanese company and its crew were primarily Filipinos, all of whom have been taken hostage and are yet to be released.

The Houthis have since continued to attack random ships that have nothing to do with Israel; ships bound for and coming from Europe and India primarily. One such incident involved the shipping container Maersk Hangzhou, flying the Singaporean flag, which was bound for Europe. It had no ties to Israel, yet it was last month attacked heavily by projectiles and Houthi gunboats. Militiamen attempted to board it but were repelled by the US. Three of the gunboats were destroyed and the hijack crew were killed, with only one gunboat and its crew escaping.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Al-Houthi has vowed to continue the attacks. He demanded that all ships passing into international waters near Yemen supply the Houthis with their information and broadcast their affiliation status with Israel.

The group argues that its actions help pressure Israel and the West to stop the onslaught in Gaza, but on the ground they have little to no effect. The Houthis’ attempts to showcase power in waters near them have little to do with Israel; instead, they have more to do with their desperation to be recognized as the legitimate Yemeni voice. They are diverting attention from the stalemate they found themselves in regarding the civil war. Questions regarding their popularity have sprung up and there is no better popularity card to play than exploiting the Palestinian issue for domestic and international recognition.

The attacks are clearly a shallow attempt on the Houthis’ part to bolster their reputation, rather than seeking to raise awareness of the Palestinians’ plight.

The Houthis are seeking to elevate their profile among Muslims and Western anti-imperialists, who overwhelmingly sympathize with the Palestinian cause. Some are already framing, in protests and certain left-leaning publications, that the “Yemenis” or “Yemen” are carrying out these attacks, despite the UN-recognized Yemeni government condemning the Houthis’ actions.

The Iranian-backed militia has long aimed to garner support for its actions in Yemen. This started by framing its coup in 2014 as a revolution and rebranding all branches of its militia and government as the Yemeni government, while accusing the coalition’s intervention in support of the UN-recognized government as a foreign invasion, despite its own backing and incubation by Iran.

The Houthis have consolidated a lot of ground in northern Yemen and are now looking internationally for recognition. The top Houthi commanders must be aware that their actions are not going to achieve anything on the ground in Gaza, other than turning the world’s attention onto them.

The Houthis are banking on this to reshape their profile into a regional player in larger Middle Eastern conflicts — and they do not mind risking global escalation to achieve it. The US and its allies must understand that the Houthis invite attacks to bolster their legitimacy. The airstrikes conducted by the US and the UK will be worn as a badge of honor that they promote via their Telegram channels. They discuss how they are the only real power doing anything about Palestine and they managed to get a reaction from the “Western imperialists.” Limited strikes on their stockpiles will not work and will actually largely play in their favor.

The attacks in the Red Sea and the limited response to them may ultimately prove to work in the Houthis’ favor. Their strategy to enhance their global standing by allying themselves with Palestine will have repercussions among global audiences. This all comes at the risk of further destabilization and economic consequences.

The West and its allies, in response, must not be tempted to just enact limited airstrikes or symbolic moves, such as the US listing the militia as a terrorist entity despite removing that designation in 2021. The West must not stop at that. There must be attempts to explore serious diplomatic avenues through Yemen’s neighbors and the UN-recognized Yemeni government to pave a roadmap to curb, contain and even dismantle the Houthi power structure that has given the group the ability to threaten maritime trade at will.

• Ibrahim Alkhamis is an expert in media and Gulf politics who focuses on issues and controversies in modern media, with a special emphasis on fake news.