Al-Houthi says Gaza famine exposes global complicity, vows escalation
Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi slams Israeli war crimes, Western complicity, and vows continued Yemeni strikes amid deepening Gaza genocide and famine.
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Yemenis chant slogans and hold pictures of Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement, during an anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 17, 2025 (AP)
Yemeni Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has denounced what he described as an unprecedented surge in violence against Palestinians in Gaza, calling the past week “bloody and grim” and filled with “horrific Zionist massacres.” In a televised address, Sayyed al-Houthi said the intensity of the Israeli assault marked “one of the ugliest eras in human history, stained by the disgrace of watching injustice inflicted upon human souls.”
According to Sayyed al-Houthi, more than 3,000 Palestinians were either martyred or wounded in the last week alone, with women and children comprising the majority of the victims. He described it as “the deadliest week in nearly half a year,” and stressed that the true toll may be even higher. “Many martyrs remain under the rubble, and some bodies are still lying in the streets” due to the relentless airstrikes and the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation.
He pointed to deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, explaining that “this week, the enemy's airstrikes directly targeted dozens of homes, annihilating entire families beneath the debris.”
Sayyed al-Houthi also underscored what he called a systematic assault on humanitarian relief efforts. He accused the Israeli occupation forces of targeting paramedics and medical workers, saying “the Israeli enemy bombed ambulance crews and medical teams in a systematic attempt to prevent the rescue of the injured.” He went further to claim that displacement camps were also deliberately targeted: “It has also focused on targeting displaced people with American incendiary bombs in their tents.”
'Pattern of violence not accidental'
The Ansar Allah leader warned that this pattern of violence is not accidental, but part of an intentional policy to drive Palestinians from their homes. “The enemy relentlessly pressures for forced displacement from the northern sector,” he said, calling the campaign a major contributor to “immense suffering” across Gaza.
Turning to the broader Arab and Islamic context, Sayyed al-Houthi delivered a sharp rebuke of the prevailing inaction among Muslim-majority states. Citing the apparent normalization of mass killing, he recalled the words of a Zionist commentator who admitted that “he couldn't believe people have become used to a hundred Gazans being killed in a single night, and no one seems to care anymore.”
Sayyed al-Houthi described this indifference as emblematic of “the shameful state of the ummah,” lamenting that the Muslim world, despite its vast populations and resources, continues to refrain from meaningful action.
“The enemy escalates its extermination campaign,” he said, “while most official regimes stop at issuing cold, lifeless statements.” These statements, according to him, do little more than “appeal to others to do something for the Palestinian people.”
'Israel' aware of its failures
In a striking portion of his speech, Sayyed al-Houthi emphasized that the Israeli occupation itself is becoming increasingly aware of its own military failures. “Many leaders of the enemy recognize that military operations in Gaza are failing, despite all the mobilization accompanying them,” he stated. “For many Zionist leaders and criminals, these operations have become aimless crimes.”
Citing former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Sayyed al-Houthi recalled his remarks that “this is a war without a goal,” adding that “what Israel is doing in Gaza now borders on war crimes.”
He went on to point to comments made by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, asserting that “the British Prime Minister’s remarks were full admissions of the crimes taking place in Gaza.”
Sayyed al-Houthi has condemned the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, describing the ongoing famine and siege as a "horrific and tragic situation" and a "major scandal" for the so-called international community and its institutions. In a televised address, the Yemeni leader stated that the scale of starvation now gripping the besieged Strip constitutes a catastrophic failure of global morality and Muslim solidarity.
'Famine in Gaza is deepening'
“There is a massive famine in Gaza, a tragic and horrific reality that reflects a complete collapse of international responsibility,” Sayyed al-Houthi said, calling the current conditions “a scandal for what is called the international community and its organizations.”
Sayyed al-Houthi emphasized that the humanitarian disaster in Gaza was not merely a failure of Western powers but a damning indictment of the Islamic world, particularly Arab governments, many of which continue to normalize or remain silent.
“The great famine in Gaza and the devastating suffering are a disgrace to the Islamic world—in Arab countries and beyond,” he declared, adding that “most families in Gaza now eat once every day and a half, and some only once every two days.”
The Ansar Allah leader accused the Israeli occupation of using starvation and siege as tools of war, stating that the campaign of hunger, thirst, and bombardment forms part of a “systematic policy to torment Palestinians.” He warned that “millions are being starved and denied water in Gaza, and tens of thousands of children are now facing death from hunger.”
Gaza health sector struggling amid war
Addressing the Israeli military's deliberate targeting of Gaza’s health infrastructure, Sayyed al-Houthi noted that “every time the health sector in Gaza tries to recover and offer the bare minimum of medical care, the enemy targets it with savage and criminal brutality.”
He also laid blame squarely on the Muslim ummah for failing to act, asserting that the people of Gaza were suffering amid a paralysis of collective responsibility. “Our Islamic nation bears a great responsibility to stand with the Palestinian people in this unprecedented injustice,” he said. “The nation is capable of doing much, but standing by idly is a deeply dangerous condition.”
According to Sayyed al-Houthi, this collective silence has emboldened “Israel,” allowing its occupation forces to act with impunity. “The silence of the ummah helps the Israeli enemy grow more audacious in committing crimes and manufacturing tragedy for the Palestinian people,” he said, warning that such quiet complicity “grants the enemy the confidence to commit atrocities without fearing any reaction.”
In occupied al-Quds, Sayyed al-Houthi warned that the Israeli regime continues accelerating its plans to alter the city's identity. “The Israeli enemy persists in its efforts to Judaize Al-Quds,” he said, while noting that across the West Bank, “violations continue through bulldozing, destruction, and abductions.”
'Most cowardly army'
He issued a scathing critique of the Israeli military, calling it “the most cowardly and humiliated army in the world,” which relies on overwhelming firepower and the complete destruction of civilian areas before even attempting ground advances. “This enemy does not operate with courage,” Sayyed al-Houthi said, “it compensates for its battlefield defeats with massacres.”
Despite these tactics, Sayyed al-Houthi said the steadfastness of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza has exposed the fragility of the occupation army. “What is happening to the Israeli army shows the high effectiveness of the mujahideen’s performance in Gaza,” he asserted. “The resilience of the fighters has made the enemy fearful of engaging in direct confrontation.”
He noted that the resistance operations have left a psychological toll on the occupation, adding that “some enemy commanders have begun to admit their fragile and shaken reality.”
In one of the most pointed accusations of the speech, Sayyed al-Houthi revealed that “ships belonging to an Islamic country and an Arab country are among the main vessels supplying the Israeli enemy and Zionists with food and goods,” a statement that underscores regional complicity in sustaining the blockade and war.
Condemnations are not enough
Sayyed al-Houthi criticized recent condemnations by certain European governments, stating that expressions of disapproval are insufficient in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. According to Sayyed al-Houthi, “what some European governments offer in the form of denunciations and protests is not enough.” He underscored that these same governments have long been complicit, pointing out that “European countries have given the Israeli enemy immense financial aid, political backing, and military support.”
He accused Western powers of exploiting recent events in Washington to stifle global outrage against the Israeli regime’s crimes. “The Washington incident is being inflated and weaponized to suppress any dissent or objection to the genocide in Gaza,” he said, referring to efforts by pro-occupation lobbies to derail public criticism. He added that the accusation of antisemitism has become a tool of repression: “The slogan of ‘antisemitism’ is used to target any popular or student activism calling for an end to the extermination of the Palestinian people.”
Turning to Yemen’s direct military involvement, Sayyed al-Houthi confirmed that the Yemeni support front carried out a series of attacks this past week using “eight ballistic and hypersonic missiles.” Among these operations, he noted, “three missiles were launched toward al-Lydd Airport,” known as Ben Gurion Airport, which triggered widespread alarms across occupied Palestine.
Yemeni operations exerting pressure on 'Israel'
Describing the impact of the strikes, Sayyed al-Houthi emphasized that “this week’s operations were significant and caused air raid sirens to sound across most occupied cities and towns.” He claimed the pressure had a tangible effect on Israeli infrastructure, highlighting that “many airlines have extended the suspension of flights to occupied Palestine, which is an important consequence of the Yemeni operations.”
He also mocked the growing sense of panic among the occupation’s population and institutions. “Millions fled to shelters, and the statements by Zionist officials and their media reveal the extent of Israeli frustration and despair regarding the Yemeni support front,” he said. He stressed that the occupation has proven unable to counter Yemen’s influence, stating that “Zionist statements demonstrate how impactful the Yemeni operations are, and how powerless the enemy is to deter or influence Yemen’s position.”
To illustrate the scale of fear, Sayyed al-Houthi recounted an incident involving a US lawmaker who took shelter in an unusual location. “A member of the American House of Representatives fled into a poultry refrigerator in a market in occupied Palestine as sirens sounded,” he said, using the example to underline what he described as widespread panic caused by the missile strikes.
Aggression not to halt Yemeni operations
Commenting on the air aggression that targeted Yemen’s west coast, Sayyed al-Houthi revealed that “22 airstrikes were launched on ports in al-Hudaydah,” which he said were meant to deter future operations. “The aggression aimed to create a deterrent to halt Yemeni operations, but it was a complete failure,” he stated, adding that the Israeli occupation and its Western allies “have failed to influence Yemen’s position or to restrain its support for Gaza.”
He praised Yemeni port workers for maintaining operations under bombardment. “I commend the brothers working and stationed at the ports, who remained steadfast in performing their duties despite repeated attacks,” he said.
Sayyed al-Houthi ended his remarks by referring to the departure of a major US warship from the region. “The aircraft carrier Truman left carrying the mark of failure,” he said, “after losing three of the most advanced warplanes in the US Air Force.”