Al-Houthi warns 'Israel' against any offensive in Rafah

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
11 Feb 2024 00:19
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The member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen says any Israeli escalation in Rafah would mean an escalation in YAF's operations.

Demonstrators gather around a giant Palestinian flag during a rally in Sanaa on February 9, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP)

The member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, affirmed that the operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) will persist as long as the Israeli aggression and siege imposed on the Gaza Strip are ongoing.

Al-Houthi added that the Yemeni operations will cease when food, medicine, and humanitarian needs reach all parts of Gaza "and the horrific and heinous crimes, as well as the genocidal crimes against the people of Gaza, come to a halt."

He warned the Israeli occupation that any escalation in Rafah or Gaza would mean an escalation in the course of the YAF's operations, which will expand as long as the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza worsens and injustice and mass killings of the residents in Gaza persist, as per field data and the directives of Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

The official pointed out that the continuation of the Yemeni operations is not in vain but a conscientious move with high human and moral objectives to stop the Israeli massacres against Gazans.

He explained that the Yemeni Armed Forces only chose clear and specific targets to hit the Israeli enemy until the American and British forces became involved in the aggression against Yemen, which turned them into targets as well, reiterating that no other countries are being targeted by the YAF.

Al-Houthi recalled that amid the confusion sowed by the United States and Britain against international shipping companies, any country feeling concerned can coordinate with Yemen, as announced by Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, to ensure more reassurance and stability in their trade movements.

Elsewhere, he called on the world not to "listen to the American interference and terrorism" and the obsessions of the US Navy.

Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas warned that the Israeli occupation's planned operation in overcrowded Rafah could cause "tens of thousands" of casualties in the city that has become the last refuge for displaced Gazans.

Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to invade Rafah, telling military and security officials late Friday to "submit to the cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions" of Hamas in the southern city.

Hamas said in a statement that any military action would have catastrophic repercussions that "may lead to tens of thousands of martyrs and injured if Rafah... is invaded."

The US State Department said it does not support a ground offensive in Rafah, warning that, if not properly planned, such an operation risks "disaster".

This comes as the Ministry of Health in Gaza highlighted on Saturday that over the past 24 hours, "Israel" committed 16 massacres in Gaza, killing 117 Palestinians and injuring 152 others, which raises the total Gazan death toll to 28,064 martyrs, with 67,611 others injured, on day 127 of the Israeli genocide.