Israeli intel officers fear Ansar Allah's expansion into North Africa

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Yemeni Armed Forces - Military Media
1 Jul 2024 04:07

Israeli news outlet i24NEWS says Israeli intelligence officers fear the expansion of Yemeni Armed Forces toward the Mediterranean.

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Yemenis attend a protest against the United States-led aggression on their country and in support of the Palestinian people in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 12, 2024. (AP)

Israeli intelligence agencies are increasingly worried about a potential new front emerging against the occupation from the Mediterranean, the Israeli news outlet i24NEWS reported, citing exclusive details authorized for release by Israeli security services.

According to the news outlets, the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement is expanding its operations into areas in North Africa, Sudan, Egypt, and Morocco. The alleged expansion is being conducted "with the intention to target Israel from these regions," the news outlet said.

Israeli intelligence sources said that there are ongoing efforts to transfer weapons and fighters to these areas.

"The horror scenario is that of a missile falling into the Mediterranean Sea, which would be a catastrophe," a source familiar with the situation told i24NEWS.

"The threat is not confined to Eilat and the Red Sea; it is right here, off the Israeli coast," the unnamed source said as quoted by the outlet.

The emerging news comes as the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) expand the scope of their operations, enacting an embargo on the Israeli occupation, which will only be stopped if the war on Gaza and the besiegement of the territory is ended.

Yemen engages in effective, proactive support of Palestine

Initially, the YAF attacked Israeli-affiliated ships in the nearby Red Sea and Arabian Sea, as a show of proactive support to the Palestinian people, aiming to paralyze maritime traffic to and from Israeli-occupied ports. As the West mobilized to aid the Israeli occupation by launching hostile strikes against Yemen, the YAF began to target ships affiliated with the United States or the United Kingdom, while also expanding the scope of their operations to target alternative routes in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

More recently, the YAF has cooperated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to attack ships heading to Israeli-occupied ports on the Mediterranean.

Ansar Allah and the YAF have conducted one of the most effective campaigns in support of Palestine, threatening Israeli interests in unprecedented naval operations.

On June 29, the spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that the YAF conducted a joint operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, in which the groups fired several suicide drones toward the WALER chemical and oil products tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. He explained that the ship was sailing toward the Israeli-occupied Haifa Port, breaching the terms of the Yemeni embargo on the Israeli occupation.

Moreover, the YAF's Rocket Force fired an anti-ship cruise missile at the JOHANNES MAERSK container ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Saree explained that the shipping conglomerate Maersk has been one of the biggest backers of the Israeli occupation and has also violated the terms of the Yemeni blockade on the Israeli occupation on multiple occasions.

Although operations in northern Africa may prove more difficult to conduct, the YAF's capabilities and the effectiveness of their operations have garnered the attention of Israeli intelligence officers who recognize the threat that the Yemeni forces can pose.