Yemen’s Houthis Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) issued a statement saying that the Yemeni Armed Forces reinstated the ban on navigation by Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, as well as the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
The statement reads: “Any Israeli vessel that attempts to violate this ban will be targeted by military strikes in the declared area of operations.
The statement also indicated that the ban on Israeli vessels was effective immediately and would remain in place until Israel reopened the crossings to the Gaza Strip and allowed the entry of foodstuffs, aid and medicines.
The ban came into effect at 23:55 on March 11 and targets vessels wholly owned by Israeli individuals or entities/flying the Israeli flag.
The ban does not apply to vessels owned by states or nations other than Israel, nor does it apply to vessels flying other flags. It is unclear how this differs from the HOCC’s statement issued on Jan. 19 after the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect.
During the previous ceasefire agreement that went into effect, the HOCC had issued a statement that the Houthis would lift the “ban” on all vessels except those wholly owned by Israel and flying the Israeli flag sailing in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden areas.