The American army confronts 3 marches from Yemen and the Houthis, and Israel threatens to escalate

The US military said that the Yemeni Houthi group launched three “unmanned aerial systems” from Yemen, without causing casualties or damage, while the group vowed that it would respond with a “wider escalation” if the Israeli occupation army invaded the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday that a coalition ship successfully engaged one of the drones, while US Central Command forces dealt with the second drone, and the third crashed in the Gulf of Aden.

Meanwhile, the Houthi group vowed on Tuesday evening that it would respond with a "wider escalation" if the Israeli occupation army invaded the city of Rafah.

The head of the National Committee for Supporting Al-Aqsa, affiliated with the Houthis, Muhammad Muftah, told Al-Masirah TV, “The escalation of the Zionists in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and their threat to invade Rafah, will be met with a Yemeni response, and the implementation of the fourth stage of escalation,” without explanation.

Muftah continued: "If any escalation occurs (in Rafah), the decision of Yemen and the Yemeni armed forces (Houthi forces) is clear and announced, and a more and broader escalation may come."

He added that the group's escalation would be "a response to any Zionist recklessness, whether by attacking Yemen, Gaza, or any place in occupied Palestine."

In "solidarity with Gaza," the Houthis targeted, with missiles and drones, cargo ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea. They also announced the targeting of Israeli cities, including Eilat.

On the other hand, an international coalition led by the United States has been attacking, since last January, what it says are the group’s sites in Yemen.

Muftah considered that "the Yemeni threat will bear fruit and achieve its goal, and will force the enemy to think a lot about its next measures and review its accounts, before taking any step to escalate."

On Tuesday, the Israeli occupation army took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing between Gaza and Egypt, as part of what was claimed to be a “limited scope” operation that has been continuing in the city since Monday morning.

On Monday, Israel issued warnings to about 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate east of Rafah and head to the non-residential Al-Mawasi area southwest of the Gaza Strip, which sparked regional and international condemnations of this forced displacement.

Claiming that it is "the last stronghold of the Hamas movement," Israel insists on invading Rafah, despite international warnings of catastrophic repercussions, due to the presence of about 1.5 million Palestinians in the city, including 1.4 million displaced people.

On Monday evening, Hamas announced its acceptance of the proposed Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel, but the latter claimed that it did not meet its requirements, and it sent its delegation to Cairo on Tuesday to complete indirect negotiations.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza, leaving about 113,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.