World must unite against the Houthi terror rebels

With Hamas and Hezbollah all but defeated it is time for Israel and the free world to dismantle the Houthi menace in Yemen. The US strikes, including those in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, are long overdue and demand solid international backing. Security sources have told The Times that Israel was “going fully in” to defang the Iran-sponsored terrorist proxy ranged against it.

The Houthi menace is a global concern and the Albanese government must leave no doubt about where it stands. The time has long since passed for the world to get serious, stop equivocating and put an end to the increasingly dire threat posed to not only Israel but also vital global shipping lanes and economies by the Houthis, the last fully operational spoke in theocratic Iran’s anti-Israel and anti-US so-called axis of resistance. Since they began their campaign of terror in support of Hamas following the October 7 slaughter of 1200 Jews in 2023, the Houthis – frequently deploying sophisticated hypersonic missiles supplied by Iran – have launched, according to estimates by the Washington Institute, more than 100 deadly attacks on warships and global shipping in the Red Sea, one of international trade’s most vital waterways.

Showing technical skill that belies their provenance in one of the world’s most backward countries, Iran’s Houthi proxies also have launched countless missiles strikes targeted at Israel 2000km away – seven such forays in just the past two weeks. Despite their success against Hamas and Hezbollah, Israelis are said to be “finding it takes only one Houthi missile in the dead of night to wreak havoc and up-end their (just restored, after the October 7 massacre) feelings of security”, according to a report in The Christian Science Monitor.

For weeks, Israel has been attacking Houthi targets in Yemen. More than 25 Israeli warplanes reportedly struck targets, including the international airport in Sanaa, on Monday. But what has been needed is a more concerted bombardment that will destroy the Houthi terrorist menace once and for all. The bombs being rained down from US warships and aircraft should go a long way towards achieving that goal.

But more than just the US and Israel should be taking part in the crucial anti-terrorist offensive: putting an end to the Houthi terrorist menace is of vital interest to every country that trades with the rest of the world. The global threat posed by Houthis should be of concern to every country. It demands a co-ordinated international response. That is even more the case given that Arab countries themselves – most notably Saudi Arabia – have failed abysmally in their previous attempts to destroy the Yemeni terrorists. It is to the credit of the Biden administration that in its final days it has seen the need to act more decisively against the Houthis. It is a pity it did not do so sooner and ignore the mindless wails of those in the Albanese government who incomprehensibly always seem to find a way of using action taken against Middle East terrorists as a reason to cry foul and call for restraint. With Israel’s security and the viability of a vital chunk of global trade at stake in ensuring the end of the menace posed by the Houthis, it is imperative that the US and Israel are not alone in seeking to destroy the Yemeni terrorists.

The protracted Afghanistan imbroglio should serve as a constant reminder of the need to step in early to eliminate terrorism before it is allowed to take hold and become a global disaster. Nothing would be better for the world at the start of 2025 than to score a trifecta with the Houthi rebels added to Hamas and Hezbollah on the list of evil Iran’s decapitated proxies.