News - Yemen: Yemen reiterated its commitment to safeguarding international navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, stressing that its military operations in the area are directed solely against the Israeli enemy and its interests, as pressure to halt ongoing massacres and blockade against the people of Gaza.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs late Tuesday, Yemen said its actions stem from a principled, religious, humanitarian, and ethical position in support of the Palestinian people, who are facing one of the most horrific genocides in history perpetrated by the Zionist entity.

The statement underscored that Yemen’s stance is fully consistent with international law, which grants nations the right to support just causes and confront injustice and occupation—particularly when international institutions, including the United Nations and the Security Council, fail to fulfill their responsibilities.

It added that the Yemeni Armed Forces are pursuing a policy that respects international law and protects maritime routes within the framework of regional cooperation and collective security. “The responsibility for safeguarding the Red Sea and ensuring safe navigation rests with the littoral states,” the statement said, stressing that the presence of foreign military fleets poses a threat to regional security.

The Foreign Ministry accused the United States and the United Kingdom of militarizing the Red Sea, turning it into a theater of conflict, and forming alliances that serve their own interests rather than those of the region’s peoples. Such alliances, it said, “have already failed and any new ones will face the same fate.”

Yemen reiterated its rejection of foreign military presence in the Red Sea, affirming that its Armed Forces are capable of protecting the country’s islands and territorial waters.

The statement concluded by calling on the international community, if genuinely concerned about maritime security, to address the root cause of the current escalation by exerting real pressure to end the Israeli enemy’s crimes in Gaza and lift the blockade on the Palestinian people.

The Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are among the world’s most strategic waterways, connecting the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Roughly 12 percent of global trade and large volumes of oil shipments pass through the route each year.

Since the escalation of the war on Gaza, the Yemeni Armed Forces have launched operations in the Red Sea targeting ships linked to the Israeli enemy and its allies, declaring the moves a form of pressure to halt genocide, starvation, and blockade against Palestinians.