Sanaa (South24)

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Today, the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis announced that they have been receiving offers and propositions from the United States (US) in exchange for halting their naval military operations.

Al-Masirah TV quoted the head of the Houthi Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, as saying: “We receive many appeals to halt our support of Gaza, but we reject them.”

Al-Mashat spoke about what he described as a "conspiracy." He called for "purging state institutions of infiltrators and agents working to stir up the internal situation."

His statements came during a military exercise in Sanaa today in which Al-Mashat and top Houthi officials participated.

Pictures released by the Houthi Saba News Agency showed Al-Mashat and Houthi officials carrying sniper rifles and assault rifles amid crowds of soldiers.

During the exercise, Houthi leaders launched a ‘general mobilization’ as part of the fourth phase of escalation, which was announced by the militia on May 3.

The announcement declared the expansion of the scope of their strikes against ships linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea.

Yesterday, the Houthis announced the arrest of what they claim was a spy cell operating in Hodeidah on the Red Sea, on behalf of Israel and the US.

A statement from the Houthis' Ministry of the Interior in Sanaa said: “We arrested a number of spies who were recruited through officers and members affiliated with an intelligence entity called ‘Force 400’, led by the wanted spy Ammar Saleh.”

Ammar Saleh is the brother of Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, who is a member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and also the commander of the Republic’s Guard forces on the West Coast.

Ammar Saleh used to be a National Security Service agent during the regime of his uncle, former President Ali Abdul Saleh, who was killed by the Houthis.

The Yemeni Minister of Information described the Houthis' announcement of the arrest of spies as "a fabrication that embodies a cheap involvement in the Gaza tragedy."