Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has instructed Israeli diplomatic missions in the European Union and the United Kingdom to promote the designation of Yemen’s Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a terrorist organization, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
“The Houthis pose a threat not only to Israel but to the region and the entire world. The direct threat to freedom of navigation in one of the busiest maritime routes globally is a challenge to the international community and the world order. The most basic and fundamental step is to designate them as a terrorist organization,” Saar was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying in a statement.
The top Israeli diplomat argued that the group had already been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The announcement comes in response to a series of Houthi attacks on Israel. The Israeli military estimates that hundreds of rockets and drones have been fired at Israel over the past 14 months. Two Houthi missiles struck Tel Aviv’s densely populated residential areas in the past week alone.
The Houthis began targeting Israel in support of the Palestinian Hamas movement shortly after Hamas’s attack on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023. In 2024, the Israeli Air Force carried out several large-scale strikes on Ansar Allah targets in western Yemen and its capital of Sanaa.
