Yemen Monitor/Sana’a/Exclusive:
A senior official in the armed Houthi group said on Friday that his group had directed the identification of Israeli fighter jet routes used to attack areas under the movement’s control and declared them “dangerous areas.” This comes two days after flights through Sana’a International Airport were halted due to an Israeli occupation targeting the last commercial aircraft in Houthi-controlled areas.
Mehdi Al-Mashat, head of the Houthi-affiliated Supreme Political Council, stated that he had directed the identification of “the routes of the Zionist enemy’s aggression against our country as dangerous areas for all companies.”
He claimed that this was for the sake of “air and maritime navigation safety in the areas” of the armed movement’s operations. He further directed: for the safety of companies, they must avoid navigation along the routes used by the Israeli occupation.
Nevertheless, Al-Mashat said that the group would be able to deal with Israeli fighter jets without “damage to air and maritime navigation.”
On Wednesday, Israeli fighter jets launched attacks on Sana’a International Airport, destroying the last commercial aircraft in areas controlled by the group. The Israeli attack comes a day after the Houthis attacked Tel Aviv with two missiles.
During his visit to Sana’a Airport, Al-Mashat said that his group is capable of targeting Israeli fighter jets, but they hide behind civilian aircraft! He stated that the group would bring aircraft to Sana’a Airport.
On Thursday, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, said that the Houthi group had threatened to bomb Aden International Airport if the last plane from Amman was not returned to Sana’a Airport, before the Israeli occupation targeted it with airstrikes on Wednesday, destroying it and leading to the announcement of a halt to navigation and flights through Sana’a Airport until further notice.
The Red Sea has witnessed a dangerous escalation since October 2023, primarily driven by attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group on commercial and military vessels, and escalating tensions between the Houthis and Israel against the backdrop of the brutal war on the Gaza Strip.
