Yemen’s 4th Phase of Ops.: A Response to Gaza’s Crisis and the Axis of Resistance’s Support

Yemen’s armed forces, one of the parties of the Axis of Resistance, announced a fourth phase of operations by targeting all ships violating the ban on “Israeli” navigation and heading to “Israeli” ports.

Following the important Yemeni announcement, Al-Ahed News sat down with the Deputy Head of the Moral Guidance Department at the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Abdullah bin Amer, who spoke about the details of the fourth phase, its repercussions, and Yemen’s options to deal with any developments.

Brigadier General Bin Amer said that the decision to begin implementing the fourth phase of the escalation was taken “as a result of the developments in the Gaza Strip and the continuation of the aggression against it, and the ‘Israeli’ threat to invade Rafah.”

“The developments in Yemen and throughout the axis are linked to the developments in Gaza,” he explained. “If the atmosphere in Gaza is positive, it reflects positively on Yemen and the axis, and if it is negative, this forces the rest of the fronts to work towards escalation and put more pressure on the United States and the ‘Israeli’ enemy in order to cease fire and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip.”

“If the ‘Israeli’ enemy invades Rafah, this will lead to the targeting of all ships belonging to companies that deal with the ‘Israeli’ enemy’s ports in occupied Palestine and that pass through the area of operation of the Yemeni armed forces. It won’t matter what nationality and destination the vessels are or even if they are heading to ports outside occupied Palestine,” the Yemeni official stated.

Regarding Yemen’s readiness to bear any consequences of the fourth phase, Bin Amer pointed out that “the Americans did not allow Yemen to use its territorial waters, but Yemen was able to impose the decision in the Red Sea region. For the sake of the Palestinian cause, it expanded the scope of operations because we realize that there is international support for the ‘Israeli’ entity.”

“When we prevented ships from heading to the port of ‘Eilat’, the ships headed to other ports. The ‘Israelis’ searched for alternatives by relying on Arab tools, with great regret. This prompted Yemen to expand and escalate until the goals related to the Gaza Strip are achieved, which means stopping the aggression and lifting the siege,” he added.

Regarding the options after the fourth phase, Brigadier General Bin Amer told Al-Ahed that “everything is possible, and it depends on the extent to which the ‘Israeli’ entity responds to the demands of the Palestinian resistance.”

“This is also related to negotiations, if the ‘Israelis’ insist on evading the issue of a ceasefire, this will certainly lead to an escalation on the part of Yemen,” he warned.

“Yemen initially aimed to lift the siege on Gaza through operations in the Red Sea, then the matter expanded to the Arabian Sea, then the Indian Ocean, and now we have expanded towards the Mediterranean Sea,” Bin Amer said, stressing that “whoever went through these three phases and has started with the fourth will certainly expect other phases. Any further expansion is not necessarily limited to expanding the geographic area of operations. There are other options.”

Regarding the American claim of a decline in operations by Yemeni Armed forces in the Red Sea, Brigadier General Bin Amer pointed out that “what has declined is the movement of ships heading to ports of occupied Palestine.”

“This confirms that the operations had a significant impact and had a success rate of approximately 99% in the Red Sea region,” Brigadier General Bin Amer said.

“The American and British military presence has certainly been affected, but there is still a presence. However, does this presence achieve the American objectives?”

“It certainly was not able to achieve the American objective in stopping Yemeni operations. Hence, the American and British military forces in the Red Sea failed to carry out the tasks assigned to them and announced by the Pentagon in the so-called Ensuring Freedom of Navigation.” 

Bin Amer downplayed the importance and impact of the American and British air attacks on Yemen.

“The American approach was initially a threat, then it turned to hostile military actions and the US carried out more than 450 air strikes against various regions, which left martyrs and wounded. But these air strikes and this military effort were unable to stop the Yemeni military operations.”

He pointed out that “the Americans were surprised by the sophistication of Yemeni tactics and weapons, and how Yemen dealt with American technological capabilities with regard to monitoring and the use of satellites, MQ9 aircraft, and spy devices on American battleships and destroyers.”

“Yemen was able to overcome all of this. The evidence is the continuation of military operations,” he stressed.

Bin Amer hopes that expanding the scope of Yemeni military operations will help end the war in Gaza, pointing out that “this is one of the main goals of the declared Yemeni military operations.”

Regarding the possible reactions to Yemen’s announcement of expanding its military operations, Brigadier General Bin Amer said, “Whatever the position, whether it is limited to taking positions such as condemnation and threats or turns to additional military actions, Yemen is certainly capable of facing any developments or repercussions, as it did when the military operations were expanded in the Red Sea.”

“Despite the American threats and military actions, Yemen was able to deal with all of these developments and will certainly be able to deal with subsequent developments.”