The Houthis continue to flout international law by stripping Yemeni people of their human rights and launching attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.
In July 2025, the Houthi terrorist group attacked and sank the Liberian-flagged Eternity C cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing four sailors and leaving 15 others missing. The Houthis took 11 surviving crew members hostage. They were released by the efforts of the Omani government in December 2025.
The International Chamber of Shipping and the Baltic and International Maritime Council — a global shipping association representing shipowners, operators and other stakeholders in the maritime industry — denounced the attack and called for increased maritime security in the region.
“These vessels have been attacked with callous disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers,” it said. “This tragedy illuminates the need for nations to maintain robust support in protecting shipping and vital sea lanes.”
Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting commercial vessels, sinking two ships, seizing another and killing seafarers.
As a result of the ongoing conflict and the brutality of Houthi governance, the Yemeni people have been suffering deprivation, displacement, restrictions on movement and other violations of human rights.
As of March 2025, more than 4.5 million Yemenis, or 14% of the population, remain internally displaced. Most of them have been displaced multiple times over several years, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. More than 18.2 million people — over half of the population — badly need humanitarian aid. More than 5 million Yemenis are severely malnourished.
The Iranian-allied Houthis, designated a terrorist group by the U.S., emerged in Northern Yemen in 1990 under the name Ansar Allah. Since conducting a coup against Yemen’s legitimate government and taking control of the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, the Houthis have waged a devastating civil war in Yemen and served as an Iranian proxy in the region. Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC, UNCHR