Sanaa (South24 Center)

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The four-day deadline set by the Houthi group to resume their maritime attacks against Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is set to end tonight (March 11), as the blockade preventing aid from entering the Palestinian Gaza Strip continues.

At 10:00 p.m. Yemen time on Tuesday (March 11), the four-day ultimatum announced by top Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi in a televised speech on Friday (March 7) is set to expire. In his address, broadcast on the group’s Al-Masirah TV channel, al-Houthi stated: “We announce to the entire world that we are granting a four-day extension, during which mediators can continue their efforts.”

He added, “If after the four days, the Israeli enemy continues to block aid from entering Gaza, we will resume our maritime operations against the Israeli enemy. We say it loud and clear – a siege will be met with a siege.”

In new remarks on Monday, Al-Houthi reiterated his pledge to resume attacks against Israel.

On Tuesday, Hamas announced that Israel has continued to close Gaza’s crossings for the 10th consecutive day, violating the ceasefire agreement that includes allowing the passage of food, medicine, and fuel trucks. The movement warned that this blockade “threatens the lives of two million people in Gaza”.

On Monday, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv highlighted the possibility of the Houthis escalating again and carrying out operations against Israel in the coming hours. The newspaper noted that “the Houthis have identified the next few hours as the time to resume missile launches and drone attacks toward Israel”.

It added that “the Israeli Air Force is taking the threats from Yemen very seriously, having implemented a series of measures to enhance readiness, including placing several defense systems on high alert”.

Another Israeli news site Ynet quoted Israeli officials as saying that they are in “close coordination with the US Central Command in anticipation of such developments” and “they expect a stronger US response against the Houthis than in recent months”, especially following the Trump administration’s designation of the Houthis as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’.

Since November 2023, in the wake of the October 7 ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation, the Iran-backed Houthi group has launched extensive maritime attacks against ships it claims are Israeli or linked to Israel in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden. The group also announced attacks on other ships in the Mediterranean Sea and the port of Haifa, in coordination with Iran-aligned Iraqi militias.

Additionally, the Houthis carried out missile and drone attacks deep into Israeli territory, including Tel Aviv, towards the end of 2024. These actions prompted intense Israeli retaliatory strikes targeting the port of Hodeidah and the energy facilities in Sanaa.

These operations were halted following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip in January 2025.