Al-Jawf

The first weeks of 2025 offered hope that peace in Gaza could offer a reprieve in Yemen, as Houthi (Ansar Allah) leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi announced on January 16 that the group would suspend its attacks on commercial vessels, and a January 19 letter to shipping companies stated that any future strikes in the Red Sea would be limited to Israeli-linked…

The final months of 2024 – bookended by the assassination of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September and the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire in January 2025 – were undoubtedly a period of redefinition for Houthi military leadership, as the group once again shifted its strategy in targeting Israel, the United States, and their strategic interests in the…

The Houthi Security and Intelligence Service has continued airing forced confessions by former employees of the US embassy in Sana’a, making increasingly outlandish claims of decades-long US spy operations in the country. The latest episodes, aired June 29, July 14, August 17, and September 1-2, focused on purported efforts to influence Yemeni culture, society, politics, and the education sector. Previous…

The ongoing economic conflict in Yemen escalated to include a fierce struggle between its bifurcated central bank for control over the nation's fractured monetary system and financial institutions. On June 26, the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden (CBY-Aden) issued a new directive, effectively banning banks and exchange outlets from working with unlicensed electronic payment companies. This move specifically targeted…

Between July and September 2024, heavy rains and severe flooding caused widespread devastation across Yemen’s governorates. More than half a million Yemenis were affected, according to the UN, with significant loss of life, disrupted public services, and severe damage to agriculture, homes, and historic landmarks. Yemen’s vulnerability lies in the intensity of rainfall rather than the amount, coupled with the…

The prevalence of child soldiers fighting in Yemen’s war has become common knowledge as Houthi (Ansar Allah) forces continue to publicly recruit and deploy children in military operations. Other armed groups in Yemen also recruit minors, although on a smaller scale and in a less public manner. In order to understand what accounts for that disparity and other aspects of…

In April 2023, a Saudi delegation was invited to visit the Houthi-held capital of Sana’a. Over the next couple of days, the media arm of the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) distributed a series of photographs to international and local media outlets featuring Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, smiling warmly in a stately reception hall and shaking…

Since day one, the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) has openly supported and praised the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by Hamas on October 7. The group has pledged its full support to the Palestinian resistance in its war against the Israeli army, which is waging a military campaign in the Gaza Strip aimed at dismantling Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions.…

A Houthi delegation flew to Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on September 14 for the latest round of negotiations to end nine years of war in Yemen. A year after the United Nations officially brokered a truce in April 2022, talks have slowly shifted from backchannels to direct public meetings. The high visibility of their first-ever confirmed visit to Saudi Arabia…