Speech by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi on the Latest Developments
Thursday, 14 Rajab 1445 AH (25 January 2024 AD)
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.
O Allah, confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Over the course of 110 days, the savage criminal Israeli aggression continues against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, committing crimes of genocide alongside with starvation, displacement, and destruction on a daily basis, while displaying horrifying criminal practices. All of that is happening with American support and participation.
Never before in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict (since the beginning of the Jewish invasion of Palestine under British occupation and British sponsorship, up till today) has there been an aggression that continued for such a duration, with the same level of intensity, criminality, bombardment, destruction, and savage criminal military operations within a narrow range like the Gaza Strip. According to declared statistics, the number of martyrs and missing persons up to this day has reached over thirty-two thousand, the majority of whom are children and women. As for the wounded, they number in the tens of thousands, many of whom are children and women. The number of the wounded is now calculated as a percentage of Gaza's population, which is unprecedented in events occurring in other countries around the world!
This savage aggression by the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people in Gaza is met with unparalleled resilience and steadfastness from the mujahidin in Gaza, as well as the local residents standing alongside them. That is despite the magnitude of the savage bombardment, the widespread destruction, and the acts of genocide; despite the siege, starvation, and lack of medicine; despite the limited resources; and despite the Arab abandonment in the face of open American and Western support to the Israeli enemy. In the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it has never happened before that an Arab army or even multiple cooperative Arab armies, even when facing no siege and having substantial capabilities of countries and organized armies, continue to exhibit such steadfastness shown by the mujahidin in Gaza. The Israeli enemy has suffered thousands of casualties, with thousands of soldiers either killed or wounded. Additionally, the entity has been facing an unprecedented situation of tremor and completely failed to achieve what it once anticipated and hoped for: to eliminate the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, the Israelis have incurred significant economic losses, despite the financial and military support they receive from America and the West, as well as the donations gathered by the Zionists from various countries. Thanks to the steadfastness of the mujahidin in Gaza and the people of Gaza, the equation has become , {'If you suffer, then, they suffer as you suffer, while you hope from Allah what they do not hope'}.
Despite the magnitude of the Zionist aggression, criminality, oppression, and incursions, the enemy has failed to achieve the stated objectives of its aggression. It has also failed to break the will and determination of the mujahidin and the people of Gaza surrounding them. Furthermore, it has failed to shatter the morale of the courageous mujahidin and the residents. The current situation for the mujahidin in Gaza and its people reflects the saying of Allah (Glory be to Him) as He praises the mujahidin alongside the prophets, {'And they did not waver regardless of that which afflicted them in the way of Allah, nor did they weaken, nor did they give in. And Allah loves the patient ones'}.
The tremendous resilience of the Palestinian people and their mujahidin in Gaza, amidst extremely difficult circumstances and intense suffering alongside the immense scale of oppression, places a great responsibility on Muslims towards them, first and foremost before Allah (Glory be to Him), and secondly, from a humanitarian and moral perspective. It is evident that if the necessary financial support were provided, both at the military and humanitarian levels, to the Palestinian people and their mujahidin, the equation would completely change. This would expedite the achievement of a decisive victory for the Palestinian people and help rescue them from the immense oppression they are facing.
The hunger of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the lack of medicine and essential humanitarian needs are undoubtedly a result of the Israeli aggression. However, the Arab blockade, as well as the Israeli blockade, imposed on the Palestinian people contributes to this, and so does the abandonment by the Arab countries. The criminal conduct of the Israeli enemy continues every day throughout these hundred and ten days. Each day, Israelis engage in all these various crimes, in which they proved to excel. They go to the extent of running over the residents of Gaza with tank tracks, sending police dogs to attack the wounded, and subjecting them to real famine, particularly in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Although suffering and hunger exist throughout the Gaza Strip, it is indeed more severe in the northern part. Starvation has reached the point of causing deaths, to the extent that parents find themselves in a heartbreaking situation when their children ask for bread, and they have nothing to offer them, not even a morsel of bread. It is a genuine tragedy.
The criminal conduct of the Israeli enemy continues every day, manifesting aggression, hatred, brutality, moral bankruptcy, and a criminal tendency. This is not surprising when it comes to the Zionist Jews, who are descendants of the killers of Allah's prophets and inherit this criminal tendency, brutality, and tyranny. It also reflects their incapability and failure whenever they fail to achieve their goals, such as breaking the will and morale of the mujahidin and the people in Gaza. And whenever they fail to achieve their declared goals for their aggression, they resort to committing crimes that are extremely heinous in every sense of the word, crimes of genocide, turning that into a tactic with the aim of achieving their goals.
The entire world and all international institutions witness what is happening on the ground of Gaza, Palestine. They are well aware of the various crimes committed by the Zionist Israeli enemy. The scenes of those various crimes and tragedies endured by the Palestinian people are documented by cameras, aired by satellite channels, and shared on social media platforms. Everyone witnesses these crimes and acknowledges them as very terrible crimes. However, is there any practical position? Why, when it comes to many other countries here or there and to responding to many other events—especially when the interests of the Americans and Western countries are involved—do we see designations, actions, practical positions, and many successive decisions (even immediately implemented decisions) being taken, while in response to what the Israeli enemy is doing to the Palestinian people in Gaza (the crimes of genocide, starvation, siege, and denial of food and medicine), we see no practical measures, no implemented decisions, no designations? Even the expressions in the statements of international institutions (such as the United Nations, the Security Council, and some organizations) fall short of truly describing what is happening. They are modest, hesitant, and timid expressions. Why is that?!
Everyone knows that the main and primary reason that has perpetuated this Zionist criminality committed in this brutal, audacious, shameless way and in full view and that has led to this state of inaction at the international level, even among Arab countries and many Muslim countries, is the American position. Everyone knows this truth.
The Americans are adamant about the continuation of Zionist crimes in Gaza. They insist on the continuation of the Israeli enemy's killing of children and women in Gaza, providing it with bombs and missiles to do so. They provide them with shells to kill children and women in Gaza and request other Western countries, such as Germany and Britain to supply bombs and shells to kill the children and women of Gaza. The Americans insist on obstructing the delivery of food and medicine to the people of Gaza, in the north and south, throughout the Gaza Strip. They do insist on that! They insist on keeping Gaza under a complete siege, with the Rafah crossing mostly closed, allowing only a minimal and rare amount of goods that fail to meet the real needs of the people in Gaza. They insist that there be no flow of humanitarian aid or necessary supplies for the Palestinian people in Gaza, neither by land, sea, nor air. In other countries, there were cases when the Americans—for the purpose of providing a cover for them to interfere—insisted on securing air, land, and sea passages for the entry of materials. They insist on allowing ships loaded with supplies to reach the Israelis from all seas and even fight for that, but they prevent the entry of food and medicine to the Palestinian people in Gaza!
The Americans are the ones behind the continuation of Zionist criminality, as well as this inaction and this weak position at the level of the international community, the international institutions, and Arab countries. They are actively participating in Zionist criminality, in every sense of the word, with their shells, rockets, and bombs that destroy Palestinian homes and kill the Palestinian people in Gaza. They also send their officers to participate in supervising Zionist crimes against the people of Gaza. Furthermore, they threaten and intimidate those who support the Palestinian people or show sympathy towards them. They keep those countries, regimes, and governments who are obedient to them even from providing humanitarian assistance. They prevent the arrival of food and medicine to the people of Gaza and directly contribute to starving them, seeking for them to die of hunger, not only through the bombs they provide to kill them and the rockets that tear them apart.
Despite our country's position in targeting ships associated with the Israeli enemy to exert pressure on it to allow the delivery of medicine and food to the people of Gaza and since the beginning of the operations in the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandeb, the Americans have rejected that: They have rejected the delivery of medicine and food to the people of Gaza and opted for escalation against our country, even though their escalation and aggression against our country cost them a lot at the economic level, a lot of American public money. This is not to mention the negative consequences of escalation in expanding the conflict, even though the Americans, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, claimed that they did not want to expand the conflict in the region. In fact, it is them who have expanded the conflict in the region, not to mention the American threat to international navigation by turning the Red Sea into a battlefield and a war zone—despite all of that, they showed no concern!
The Americans are willing to endure all of that for the sake of preventing the delivery of food and medicine to the people of Gaza! The Americans have no problem with the conflict expanding, with incurring the economic cost of this conflict at the expanse of the American people, with escalating tensions regionally, or with their own endeavour to target international navigation and impact it in the Red Sea and the Bab Al Mandeb. They are willing to endure all of that, but not the entry of medicine and food to the people of Gaza or the cessation of the crimes of genocide and the killing of women and children in Gaza. This reflects bizarre brutality, criminality, tyranny, and blind hatred! Since the beginning of the sea operations, they did not accept the fair equation that calls for the delivery of food and medicine to the Palestinian people in Gaza, which is their right according to the humanitarian norms, international laws, heavenly law, and all considerations. It is their right, but the Americans completely reject it, reflecting a very terrible state of aggression, criminality, tyranny, and brutality. In fact, they seek to prevent that.
In contrast, in the face of this tyranny, this brutality, and this aggression, there is a significant responsibility on our Islamic Ummah, at the forefront, and on the whole world as well. Who is more deserving of support: the oppressed Palestinian people, who are attacked, besieged to the point of starvation, and unarmed and who are the rightful owners, or the Israeli enemy with its immense military arsenal, which is in a position of aggression, tyranny, occupation, and criminality? It is the hungry, besieged Palestinian people, in all considerations: humanitarian, legal, religious, and moral considerations. The Israeli is a criminal and oppressor, and it enjoys tremendous Western support. However, the oppressed Palestinian people are the ones who receive no support—this is, indeed, very unfortunate!
Our dear Muslim Yemeni people's position stems from a sense of human, moral, and religious responsibility and is based on their identity of faith. The battle they are fighting today is for supporting the Palestinian people and is not a separate or tangential battle. The Americans are attempting to portray that the battle in the Red Sea is for safeguarding international navigation. However, there is no battle under this title. There is a battle taking place in support of the Palestinian people against the American aggression aimed to protect Zionist criminality. This is the accurate and precise description of what is happening. Our battle to support the Palestinian people has been ongoing since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza and is absolutely linked to what is happening in Gaza, whether in terms of the missiles or drones launched into the occupied Palestinian territories and or the operations at sea. The tally of these operations has now reached more than 200 drone strikes and over fifty ballistic and winged missiles. Our country will continue its operations until food and medicine reach all the people of Gaza, in the north, south, and throughout the Gaza Strip, ensuring Gaza receives its full needs of food, medicine, and humanitarian requirements and until Zionist criminality ceases. It is Gaza's right to receive aid by land, sea, and air—this is a human right—in a manner that meets its needs.
Our human conscience, religious affiliation, and fraternal ties with the Palestinian people make it incumbent upon us not to remain silent, not to keep watching those tragic scenes of hunger among the people of Gaza or the horrendous crimes committed against them without taking action, and not to ignore the pleas of our sisters and mothers in Gaza. We cannot simply stand by and watch the tears of orphaned children or ignore the cries of the bereaved ones.
The persistence of the Americans in protecting Zionist criminality and their rejection of a fair and just humanitarian equation, which includes the delivery of food and medicine to the people of Gaza and the cessation of Zionist criminality and can lead us to cease our declared operations at sea—their persistence in protecting Zionist criminality, despite the cost of that, their destabilizing actions, their inclination towards aggressive options that escalate the conflict, and their threat to international navigation as a result of that will not affect our position or make us retreat. Our battle continues, completely linked to the battle of Gaza.
The Americans are pursuing blatant deception, and the matter is clear to the entire world. They are attempting to portray their aggression against our country and their protection of Zionist criminality as safeguarding international navigation. However, it is all about protecting Zionist criminality, and through this blatant deception, their goal is to entangle others in joining them to protect Zionist criminality to ensure its continuation against the people of Gaza.
Our operations do not pose a threat to international navigation. Since the beginning of our operations in the Red Sea and with coordination and assistance from our country to protect international navigation, over 4,874 commercial ships have safely passed through. This is a significant number during this period. Since we declared our operations in the Red Sea, everyone knows they are not the target. Our position is clear, the target is clear, and the objective is clear. However, the Americans seek deception. The American aggression against our country has no basis: It is not supported by the United Nations, the Security Council, or anything else. What they are doing, along with the British, represents a threat to international navigation. It is also a violation of the sovereignty of the Red Sea coastal states that have territorial waters and are concerned with maritime security, being coastal states. However, despite the scale of American misinformation, deception, and media propaganda, there is a global awakening towards American deception.
We advise the European nations (some of whose regimes tend to align themselves with America in protecting Zionist criminality) to beware of their governments getting involved in that and the exploitation of their resources. That is because it is only them who will be affected by all of that, in terms of the economic losses they will incur, as well as the threat to maritime security in the Red Sea resulted from any further escalation or tension in the situation.
We clearly target Israel-linked ships, aiming to secure the delivery of food supplies to the Palestinian people. Our goal is to exert pressure for that purpose: delivering medicine, food, and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and preventing Zionist criminality, crimes of genocide, and Zionist atrocities against the population of Gaza. This is a clear and sacred goal, which is also a humanitarian demand that should be responded to accordingly.
Whatever the American and British escalation might be, the consequences will be counterproductive, and our decision will remain unaffected. We are resolute in this decision and this position, and this will not affect our will and determination. What we do is sacred, and we consider it part of our jihad in the cause of Allah, the Almighty. It will not impact our military capabilities; rather, we continuously enhance them, and we take necessary precautions . We are not strange to facing military and combat challenges; we are well-experienced in that. The results will be counterproductive for the enemies in terms of cost, exacerbating the situation, expanding the conflict, and threatening maritime navigation. The reality has borne witness to this: Since the beginning of the airstrikes on our country and the missile bombardment from the sea, the Americans have been unable to stop the strikes on the sea or the targeting of ships. Instead, they and the British have brought themselves into trouble.
The only solution is to deliver food and medicine to the people of Gaza; to deliver medicine, food, and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza; and to put an end to the crimes of genocide and the killing of children and women. This is the solution through which we have the goal of our position achieved and so deescalate our position.
In the face of all of this, the responsibility to act in a greater, stronger, and more determined manner multiplies upon our Islamic Ummah as a whole. There is no room for any retreat in positions or falling into a state of weakness or apathy in taking action. On the contrary, the more the Israelis and Americans insist on continuing their criminality and the more the tragedy and suffering grow—when the Israelis kill more and more children and women and commit more heinous crimes as some people in Gaza die of hunger, when more homes of the Palestinians in Gaza are destroyed, when they suffer more and more from all these crimes committed by the Israelis, and when they , along with the Americans, insist on continuing them—the greater our determination, resoluteness, and steadfastness should be, and so should our striving for preventing this criminality and putting an end to it. This is a highly significant responsibility upon us in our Islamic Ummah as a whole and upon the entire world, as this is a humanitarian and moral responsibility.
Therefore, the demonstrations should continue even in the Western countries, in Europe, in America, and elsewhere. The activities of Arab and Islamic communities should persist. Just as I requested in last week's speech from the Yemeni community to play an active role—just as our people have a distinctive movement compared to other peoples—there should be a widespread movement that escalates pressure increasingly to put an end to the heinous and atrocious crimes against the Palestinian people. This movement should be evident through demonstrations. Within our own country and in countries where demonstrations take place, there should be intensive activity. At the media level, there should be no slackening; rather, the work in supporting the Palestinian people, highlighting the oppression they face, and disseminating evidence that attests to this oppression, shows this tragedy, and presents it to all peoples around the world. This is a very important matter. The same applies to boycotting American and Israeli goods, encouraging others to do that, and explaining its importance and what it can achieve. And this extends to the military position on all fronts engaged in military action, as it is the case in our country, the case in Lebanon, and the case with the free people in Iraq.
At the level of popular mobilization, which holds immense importance, peoples should take to the streets, go on demonstrations, and have a loud voice, demanding an end to the aggression on Gaza and the criminality committed against the Palestinian people. This is crucial, and it represents a sacred responsibility. Engaging in such actions with sincere intentions is considered jihad in the cause of Allah, the Almighty. To mobilize under such circumstances and in such a situation in the face of this enormously immense oppression, is a movement that reflects human values and morals and reveals the living conscience of humanity. It testifies to your awakened conscience and your humanity: that you are still human, carrying human emotions. And when your motivation in that is also driven by faith (for the sake of Allah, the Almighty) and a sense of the responsibility between you and Allah (Glory be to Him), then there is a great reward in that, and this is a tremendous virtue, as Allah said in the Holy Quran:{'This is the favour of Allah. He grants it to whoever He wills'}. This is what reflects the values and morals of those who take action. In contrast, complacency is considered a major burden and an extremely dangerous matter.
The more the criminality and hunger intensify, the more urgent it becomes to take action to prevent them. One should not respond to this with apathy, silence, or indifference towards what is happening or get bored even with keeping up with the events there. This is an important matter.
The silence of peoples and their inaction, especially in the Islamic world, lead their enemies to look at them as prey. if they do not take action in the face of such a tragedy, such horrendous crimes committed against a people who are part of this Ummah and are connected to this Ummah by all ties. It is even in the interest of the Ummah to confront the enemy that targets it, for it is an enemy of the Ummah as a whole. The Prophet (PBUH&F) said, 'The relationship of the believer with another believer is like a building, each strengthens the other,' and he also said, 'Whoever wakes up without concern for the affairs of the Muslims is not one of them, and whoever hears a Muslim calling out "O Muslims!" and does not respond to him is not one of them.' In addition, in the Holy Quran, there are more than five hundred verses that speak about jihad in the cause of Allah to confront evil, injustice, tyranny, criminality, and aggression. If our peoples do not take action against all of that, this will embolden the enemies, and what is happening to the Palestinian people today can happen to other people, at the same scale or even worse. This is a very serious matter.
This can also affect us in the Hereafter, for it is a part of our religious and faith-based obligations to have a position against injustice, tyranny, and criminality—against the enemies of Allah and humanity. So if we do not fulfil this religious, ethical, and faith-based obligation and deviate from it, this is a negligence towards our faith, our religion, , and our Taqwa-based relationship with Allah (Glory be to Him). Doesn't Allah warn us in the Holy Quran, saying, {'If you do not march forth, He will afflict you with a painful torment and replace you with other people. You are not harming Him in the least. And Allah is Most Capable of everything'}? Lack of action is extremely dangerous: It ingrains in the hearts of peoples, the Ummah, psychological defeat, cowardice, degradation, humiliation, submission, fear, and surrender; and it shackles the Ummah with the chains of disgrace. Taking action is a must, and there are vast aspects. We advised some peoples who suffer from extreme repression under their regimes to engage in boycotting American and Israeli goods, which is an effective weapon. They can also engage in media activities on social media platforms and donate to the Palestinian people, and in many countries, more activities and actions are available. Serious action must be taken; this is part of the religious, moral, and humanitarian responsibility that should not be neglected.
Our Yemeni people will not abandon Gaza. People will not stay at home ignoring what is happening there, and this widespread popular mobilization expressing the position of our people and their determination to stand with the Palestinian people will continue. They will continue their comprehensive movement at all levels and with awareness and great momentum—they will not abandon Gaza!
At the end of this speech, I address our dear Muslim Yemeni people and call upon them to continue participating in the massive and widespread weekly popular turnout. This is important, particularly in this stage; it is extremely significant. It is important and impactful and leads to important outcomes. It falls within the framework of our religious, humanitarian, moral, and faith-based responsibilities and obligations.
I call for huge participation in tomorrow's Friday turnout (by the will of Allah) in Sana'a at Al-Sabaeen Square as usual, as well as in the rest of the governorates according to the designated arrangements. By the will of Allah, our people will affirm tomorrow to the Palestinian people in Gaza that they are not alone. They will assure the people of Gaza that they are not alone and that they are with them until victory. In such circumstances, we are with Allah (Glory be to Him), and Allah is with our people and with the oppressed Palestinian people, with the persecuted and oppressed people of Gaza. And Allah is the best of helpers: {'And Allah is sufficient as a Guardian, and He is sufficient as a Helper'}.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success in seeking what pleases Him. O Allah (Glory be to You), have mercy on our martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory, for You are All-Hearing!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.