Once again, the Houthis, to whom US President Trump has ordered to “hit,” are in the global spotlight. So, who are these Houthis? The Houthis are a Shia organization in Yemen supported by Iran, positioned within the resistance axis against Israel. Besides the capital Sana’a, they control the north of the country and the Red Sea shores.

Since the beginning of the attacks on the Gaza Strip by Israel on October 7, they targeted ships heading to or belonging to Israel in the Red Sea in support of Palestine. They are known as Ansar Allah and receive support from Iran. The Houthis gained international attention for attacking commercial ships in support of Palestine during the Gaza War, becoming targets of the US and the UK.

In the 1990s, they emerged to defend Zaidism, a branch of Shiism, becoming prominent in the Saada region in northwestern Yemen. They took their name from Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a key figure in Zaidism. Following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Houthis gained prominence with anti-American protests, also criticizing the Yemeni government supported by the US.

Converting their religious movement into an armed rebellion, they began clashes with government forces. Their leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, was killed by government forces in 2004. The Houthis captured Sana’a in 2014, forcing Yemen’s President at the time, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, supported by the US, to flee to Saudi Arabia in 2015.

As the escalation led to a prolonged civil war in Yemen, the Houthis, backed by Iran, faced a Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government. The US also provided military support to the coalition. The Houthis gained further international recognition for cross-border drone and missile attacks, the most notable being the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.

A year later, they targeted Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, with ballistic missile attacks. In 2022, a drone attack on Abu Dhabi, UAE’s capital, resulted in three deaths. With Saudi Arabia’s failure to defeat the Houthis after years of war, negotiations began. Though peace talks face occasional setbacks, they continue.

Currently, the Houthis continue to govern Sana’a and northern Yemen while controlling the Red Sea coast. A large part of the Yemeni population lives under their rule. The Houthis collect taxes and even produce money. According to a 2010 UN report, their supporters number between 100,000 to 120,000, including armed militias.

After transforming into an armed group, the Houthis modeled themselves after Lebanon’s Hezbollah organization, reportedly receiving military training from Hezbollah since 2014. They identify themselves as part of the resistance axis led by Iran, along with Hezbollah and Hamas. The US and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of supplying drones and missiles to the Houthis.

The Houthis resurfaced in the spotlight with the Gaza War. Portraying themselves as defenders of the Palestinians, the Houthis started targeting ships heading to Israel in the Red Sea to support Gaza. In November, they seized a cargo ship they claimed was Israeli-owned and launched drone and ballistic missile attacks on other commercial ships.

On January 10, they announced targeting a US ship in the Red Sea with missiles and kamikaze drones, citing support for Israel as a reason. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) accepted a resolution proposed by the US and Japan on January 11, demanding an immediate end to the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea.

Approximately 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, offering the shortest route between Europe and Asia.