Claim: Yemen’s Houthis announced a ceasefire with Israel following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US Presidential Election.
Fact: This claim is false. The Houthis have not declared a ceasefire following Trump’s re-election. Instead, they have continued their attacks in the Red Sea.
On 6 November, @GeneralMCNews took to X, writing: “BREAKING: Iran-backed Houthis declare ceasefire shortly after Donald Trump victory.
“Our operations in international waters were purely defensive, and we announce their final cessation.”
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea
The Houthis are an armed political and religious group representing Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis, according to the BBC. They identify themselves as part of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance,” which opposes Israel, the US, and Western powers.
The group launched their first attack on 19 November 2023, seizing the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli-affiliated cargo ship traveling from Turkey to India, in a helicopter raid, as reported by Al Jazeera. This marked the beginning of their campaign against Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, reportedly in retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the 7 October Hamas-led attacks. These assaults have disrupted one of the world’s shortest shipping routes between Europe and Asia, the report added.
The Houthis have launched a series of attacks since 19 November and expanded their targets over time, according to The Independent. They launched drones, missiles, and naval operations targeting commercial vessels, with many intercepted by US Navy ships like the USS Hudner and USS Carney.
The Independent further reported that these attacks had intensified by December 2023, including missile strikes on Norwegian and other international vessels, prompting defensive actions from US and its allies since then. On 9 January 2024, the Houthis carried out their largest assault, firing 21 drones and missiles, all intercepted by US and UK forces. On 11 January, they fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, marking another significant escalation in their operations, the report added. These attacks have drawn strong responses from the US and its allies.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image, which features Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces. The circulating image appears to be a screenshot from Sare’e’s televised statements, frequently shared on X by Ameen Hayyan, Director of the Office of the Spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces, as well as by various news outlets.
However, we did not find any statements regarding a ceasefire with Israel. On 7 November, Sare’e posted a video on X featuring the leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, who announced that “ التخويف لشعوب المنطقة بترمب غير مجدي ولنا تجارب سابقة معه..”
[Translated from Arabic: Scaring the people of the region with Trump is useless and we have previous experiences with him.]
This was followed by another video of the Houthi leader in which he stated, “عملياتنا مستمرة في البحار وفي عمق الأراضي المحتلة مع قرار للتعامل مع عمليات التمويه للسفن الإسرائيلية..”
[Translated from Arabic: Our operations continue in the seas and deep within the occupied territories, with a decision to address the camouflage operations of Israeli ships.]
On 12 November, the Houthis launched at least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and three cruise missiles, all of which were intercepted by the US vessels, with no damage or casualties reported, according to the BBC. This attack occurred after US airstrikes targeted Houthi weapon storage bases in Yemen.
Al Jazeera also reported on the attacks, highlighting that they targeted two US Navy destroyers, the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance, as they transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. While the Houthis claimed to have also attacked the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder stated he was unaware of any such attack on the carrier, the report added.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, it was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also shared here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The claim that Yemen’s Houthis announced a ceasefire with Israel following Donald Trump’s re-election is false. They have continued their attacks on US ships, including missile and drone strikes in the Red Sea. In fact, the group’s leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi clarified that military operations will persist and made no indication of any cessation of hostilities.
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Background image in cover photo: Al Jazeera/Handout/US Navy via Reuters
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