Houthi militants have warned they will restart attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea unless Israel restores humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza, which were cut earlier this month.
In a televised speech on March 8, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi gave Israel four days to lift the blockade on Gaza aid, halted since March 2. If the demand is not met, the group vowed to resume naval operations targeting Israeli-linked vessels.
The Houthis had previously paused attacks on international shipping on January 19, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. However, the truce expired on March 1 without extension, heightening tensions in the region.
S&P Global Market Intelligence has assessed the Houthi threat as “credible,” warning that renewed attacks would pose a significant risk to all vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden due to the uncertainty of targeting.
Jack Kennedy, head of Middle East and North Africa country risk at S&P Global, stated at the TPM25 conference that the ceasefire is unlikely to hold in the long term. “We expect military operations in Gaza to resume within the next 12 months,” he said.
The ongoing instability has made ocean carriers hesitant to resume Suez Canal transits. Many shipping companies have been rerouting vessels around Africa for the past 15 months due to security concerns.
“It has to be safe, and right now, it is not safe,” said Soren Toft, CEO of Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), at the TPM25 conference. He emphasized that the timeline for a return to Red Sea routes remains uncertain, as it depends on broader regional agreements still under discussion.
Source: joc.com