Houthis Signal Pause in Attacks on Israel and Red Sea Shipping as Gaza Ceasefire Holds

Houthis indicate halt to Red Sea and Israel strikes amid fragile Gaza truce

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have signaled they have paused attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea as a fragile ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip. The development comes in an undated letter attributed to Maj. Gen. Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, the Houthi military chief of staff, that was published online by Hamas’ armed wing.

“We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas.”

The Houthis have not issued a formal, unequivocal announcement confirming the campaign is permanently over, but the letter represents the clearest indication to date that operations have paused while the ceasefire holds.

Responses and regional tensions

Israel’s military, which has carried out strikes that killed senior Houthi figures, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in September he would respond forcefully after a drone attack on Eilat wounded 22 people.

Impact on shipping and the global economy

The Houthi campaign attracted international attention during the Israel–Hamas war because the rebels said their strikes were meant to pressure Israel to stop fighting. Since a ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the group has not claimed further attacks.

Although the Houthis say they targeted vessels linked to Israel, many struck ships had little or no connection to the Israel–Hamas conflict. The campaign has killed at least nine mariners and sunk four vessels. The most recent widely reported attack struck the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht on Sept. 29, killing one crew member and wounding another.

The strikes severely disrupted traffic through the Red Sea, a corridor that previously carried roughly $1 trillion in goods annually. Many shippers rerouted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, increasing transit times and costs. Transits through Egypt’s Suez Canal — a vital source of hard currency that generated about $10 billion in 2023 — were heavily affected; the International Monetary Fund estimated Houthi attacks reduced Suez-related foreign-exchange inflows by about $6 billion in 2024.

Military actions and detentions

U.S. and allied forces struck Houthi targets earlier this year; at times U.S. operations included the use of long-range assets such as the B-2 bomber to target what officials described as underground Houthi bunkers. The sustained strikes and the Houthi campaign have heightened tensions across the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Peninsula.

Separately, the Houthis have intensified threats against Saudi Arabia and detained dozens of staff from U.N. agencies and other aid organizations, accusing some without publicly presented evidence of espionage — allegations firmly denied by the U.N. and humanitarian groups.

The pause appears conditional: the Houthis warn they will resume strikes and reimpose a ban on Israeli navigation if the conflict around Gaza flares again. Observers say maritime insurers, shipping companies and regional governments are closely watching whether the lull becomes a lasting de-escalation.