US imposes further sanctions on Yemen’s Houthis amid escalation with Israel | Houthis news

Washington, D.C. – The USA has specifically imposed new sanctions the Houthis while the Yemeni group continues to carry out attacks with Israel during the war on Gaza.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced penalties against Hashem al-Madani, the central bank governor in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, as well as several Houthi officials and affiliates, accusing them of helping the group acquire “dual-use and weapons components “to have helped”.

The U.S. Treasury Department described al-Madani as the “primary overseer of funds sent to the Houthis by the Houthis.” Quds Force the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

There are two competing central banks in Yemen: one in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, which serves areas of the country controlled by the rebel group, and another in Aden, serving areas of the country controlled by the internationally recognized government and other anti- Houthi groups are controlled.

Finance Minister Bradley Smith said the sanctions were aimed at thwarting Houthi efforts to “secure additional revenue.”

“The United States will continue to expose these schemes and hold accountable those who seek to enable the Houthis’ destabilizing activities,” Smith said in a statement.

Thursday’s actions suggest Washington will further increase economic pressure on the Houthis as U.S. and Israeli forces attack areas in Yemen that the group controls militarily.

The penalties freeze the assets of companies and individuals in the U.S. and make it largely illegal for Americans to conduct financial transactions with them.

The US sanctions came hours after Israel bombed targets in Yemen, among other places power plants near Sanaa, killing at least nine people.

The Israeli bombing was followed by a missile launch by the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, towards Tel Aviv.

The Yemeni group has targeted Israel with drones and missiles to pressure the U.S. ally to end its war in Gaza, where the U.S.-backed Israeli military has killed more than 45,000 people.

It was also the Houthis, who were allied with Iran carry out attacks on shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea as part of the same campaign allegedly supporting the Palestinians.

In response to the Red Sea attacks, the US and UK have been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen for months.

Washington also listed the Houthis as “specially designated global terrorists,” a move aimed at strangling the group’s finances.

But the military operations and sanctions have not deterred the Yemeni group’s military operations.

Ansar Allah leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that “Israeli aggression” will not change the Houthis’ position in support of the Palestinians.

“We are up to the challenge and continue to escalate,” he said in a televised address. “We don’t care what the enemies do. We are at war and in open confrontation with them.”

Later in the day, the Houthis claimed another drone strike against Israel and said they were ready for a “long war with this enemy.”

Palestinian groups have praised the Houthis for their military action. Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, expressed support for the Yemeni group on Thursday following what he called “terrorist” Israeli attacks.

“We commend the strong position of our brothers in Yemen in support of Gaza and call on them to increase their attacks until the (Israeli) occupation gives in and ends the genocide,” he said in a statement.

United Nations experts and Rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – an attempt to physically destroy the Palestinian people. A report from Brown University’s Watson Institute found that the United States gave Israel $17.9 billion in military aid during the first year of the war.

The Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also said the “brave” Houthi rocket attack on Tel Aviv was an example that “Palestinians are not alone.”

After Lebanese Hezbollah achieved one fragile ceasefire Along with Israel, the Houthis last month became one of the last Iranian allies to directly confront Israel.

The Lebanese group on Thursday condemned Israel’s bombing of “civil infrastructure” in Yemen.

“We call on all free people and resistance forces to stand in solidarity against this ongoing aggression against our people,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Houthis should reconsider their military campaigns after setbacks suffered by the Iran-aligned Axis in recent months, including the damage Israel has inflicted on Hezbollah.

“Are they going to be out there alone?” Blinken said of the Houthis. “And some of what we’re seeing now suggests that they may be trying to go in a different direction.”

Just hours after the top US diplomat’s speech, the Yemeni group fired two ballistic missiles into Tel Aviv.