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US Relists Houthis as Terrorists in Response to Red Sea Attacks
Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released Nov. 20, 2023. Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
The US government on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups in the latest attempt by Washington to stem attacks on international shipping.
Officials said the “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) designation, which hits the Iran-aligned group with harsh sanctions, was aimed at cutting off funding and weapons the Houthis have used to attack or hijack ships in vital Red Sea shipping lanes.
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation.”
US President Joe Biden’s administration also issued “carve outs” aimed at avoiding an impact on Yemen’s population, which relies on food imports and humanitarian aid, and pledged to conduct outreach to groups including aid agencies before the designation comes into effect in 30 days.
The Houthis’ campaign has disrupted global commerce, stoked fears of inflation, and deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.
Biden last week called the Houthis a “terrorist” group. American and British warplanes, ships, and submarines have launched dozens of air strikes targeting the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen.
The US military on Tuesday carried out its latest strike against four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, two US officials told Reuters.
On Wednesday, Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the designation would not affect operations, which the group says are in support of the Palestinians and target Israeli ships or ships heading to Israel.
The attacks are part of a broad response to the Gaza conflict by a so-called Axis of Resistance — including the Houthis alongside Palestinian terrorists Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and Iraq’s Shiite militias — backed by US adversary Iran.
“We will continue to counter and blunt Iranian malign influence wherever we can. So of course the choice to move away from Iran is now in the hands of the Houthis,” said one of three administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of the announcement on condition of anonymity.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthis in a war widely seen as a proxy conflict between US ally Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Former US President Donald Trump’s administration added the Houthis to two lists designating them as terrorists a day before its term ended. The United Nations, aid groups, and some US lawmakers expressed fears that sanctions would disrupt flows of food, fuel, and other commodities into Yemen.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Feb. 12, 2021, revoked the designations in “recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.”
On Wednesday the Houthis were relisted as a SDGT group, but not as a “foreign terrorist organization,” which includes stricter prohibitions on providing material support to those on the list and would mean automatic travel bans. US officials said this would make it easier to exempt humanitarian goods from sanctions.
The UN describes the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as “severe” with more than 21 million people — two thirds of the population — in need of aid. It says more than 80 percent of the population struggles to access food, safe drinking water, and adequate health services.
Asked about the US move, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations was committed to continuing its work in the country “in line with our principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence.”
“Unilateral sanctions, in any context, can have an impact — often unintended — on the well-being of civilians,” he added.
The US Treasury Department also issued licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the Houthis, including transactions related to agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, telecommunications, and personal remittances. Also authorized were transactions involving the Houthis related to port and airport operations and transactions related to refined petroleum products in Yemen.
“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” Blinken said in a statement.
The post US Relists Houthis as Terrorists in Response to Red Sea Attacks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.