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Shooting missiles toward Israel and attacking ships sailing through the Red Sea, Yemen\u2019s Houthi militia has been gaining popularity across the Middle East and building regional clout that could help expand its power at home, analysts say.<\/p>\n
Across the Middle East, where the war in Gaza has left citizens seething with anger at Israel and the United States<\/a> \u2014 and in some cases, at their own American-backed governments<\/a> \u2014 people have hailed the Houthis as one of the only regional forces willing to challenge Israel with more than harsh words.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they did has given us dignity, because they did this in a time when everyone was watching idly,\u201d said Khalid Nujaim, who works at a medical supply company in Sana, the Yemeni capital, which is controlled by the Houthis.<\/p>\n A once-scrappy tribal group<\/a>, the Houthis have taken over much of northern Yemen since they stormed Sana in 2014, gradually increasing their military capabilities and effectively winning a war against a Saudi-led coalition that spent years trying to rout them<\/a>. Now that the most intense fighting in Yemen\u2019s civil war has largely died down, the armed group is increasingly functioning as a de facto government.<\/p>\n They have described their recent attacks as a campaign in solidarity with the 2.2 million Palestinians living under Israel\u2019s siege and bombardment of Gaza<\/a>, which was launched in response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas<\/a>. <\/p>\n That campaign has transformed the Houthis from a local and regional force into one with a global impact, said Yoel Guzansky, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University\u2019s Institute for National Security Studies.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, what they really want is a bigger stake in Yemen, and perhaps they want to do that through becoming a global problem,\u201d said Mr. Guzansky, a former Israeli official.<\/p>\n Particularly now, when the Houthis are on the verge of a peace deal<\/a> with Saudi Arabia that would potentially recognize their control over northern Yemen, the war in Gaza is \u201ca massive opportunity for them to get legitimacy in region,\u201d said Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni <\/strong>research fellow at the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, the London-based research group. \u201c<\/strong>Right now everyone who is in the region is confusing the Yemenis with the Houthis, and for the Houthis, that\u2019s the best thing that can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n In statements announcing their attacks, the Houthis call themselves the \u201cYemen armed forces\u201d \u2014 brushing aside the presence of an internationally recognized government and other armed groups based in the country\u2019s south. On Tuesday, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of the Houthi movement, posted a warning<\/a> on social media outlining the risks of traveling in the Red Sea, telling ships not to travel to \u201coccupied ports in Palestine\u201d and to be prepared to respond to orders from \u201cthe Yemeni navy.\u201d<\/p>\n These days, wherever he goes in the region, Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, finds that people are thrilled to learn that he is from Yemen, and quickly begin \u201ctalking about the Houthis and how brave they are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very deep reflection of public opinions across the Arab countries at this moment,\u201d Mr. Nagi said. He expressed concern that people might increasingly believe that they cannot trust their state actors, and that nonstate actors like the Houthis are their only hope to challenge what they see as Western hegemony.<\/p>\n Support for the Palestinian cause and hostility toward Israel has long been a pillar of the Houthi narrative; \u201cDeath to America, death to Israel\u201d is in the group\u2019s slogan. Part of the way they frame themselves is in opposition to American-backed Arab leaders, whom they view as \u201cjust mercenaries for the West,\u201d Mr. Nagi explained.<\/p>\n Arab governments that once went to war with Israel and led an oil embargo to punish its Western backers have mostly reacted to the war in Gaza with public condemnations<\/a>, aid campaigns and diplomatic efforts<\/a> to push for a cease-fire, reinforcing a sense of impotence among some of their citizens who would prefer to see them cut ties with Israel<\/a> or take other, more forceful actions.<\/p>\n At a news briefing on Tuesday, Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesman, described the Houthis as Iranian proxies \u201cwith the self-awareness of cartoon villains,\u201d calling their attacks \u201ca clear threat not only to Israel, but also to international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n Using military force against Israel also helps the Houthis evade challenges on the domestic front, Mr. Nagi said. As Yemen\u2019s civil war moves to a new phase, they are facing pressure from people asking for basic public services or for their long-delayed salaries as civil servants to be paid, he said.<\/p>\n While it is not the only reason behind their attacks, \u201cthis is a way out from that dilemma,\u201d Mr. Nagi said. Now the message is essentially: \u201cDon\u2019t speak about anything, because we are in a war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Shuaib Almosawa contributed reporting from New Delhi, Talya Minsberg from Tel Aviv and Ephrat Livni from Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n