On the Red Sea, another war may start, and in addition to the Houthis, a new "enemy" of the US military has appeared.
Recently, the Houthis have been attacking ships bound for Israel or linked to the country in the Red Sea region. When a cargo ship was attacked, U.S. helicopters sank the Houthi boat and killed some of the attackers. At the same time, the UK is considering launching air strikes against Houthi targets.
The United States and Britain issued an ultimatum warning the Houthis to stop their operations or face a heavy blow. At a critical moment, the Houthi "allies" have made a move, and the United States is about to face a new challenge.
(U.S. Navy destroyer launches missile)
1. The battlefield cannot be resolved, and Israel chooses to withdraw its troops on a large scale
In the face of opposition, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, and despite the use of advanced weaponry and continuous aerial bombardment, it still failed to achieve the goal of completely eliminating Hamas. In particular, Israel is often attacked by Hamas after street fighting, and the Qassam Brigade under Hamas frequently posts videos on social media destroying Israeli combat vehicles, which makes Israel appear very passive.
It is worth mentioning that Israel has only released information on the deaths of a small number of soldiers in the war, which is not small from what the Qassam Brigade has announced, so it is widely believed that Israel is deliberately concealing its true losses in the Gaza Strip.
With the battlefield unresolved and the international community facing tremendous diplomatic pressure, Israel's announcement that it had withdrawn some of its troops from the Gaza Strip has attracted attention from the outside world.
Regarding the operation, the Israeli side said that the withdrawal of these soldiers is to prepare for the next phase of the operation, with a more targeted strike against Hamas, and the fighting is expected to continue throughout the year.
(Partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza)
In this regard, the US media commented that this is the largest withdrawal of Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which may mean that the war will gradually turn to a low-intensity stage. It is worth mentioning that the imminent return of the aircraft carrier sent by the United States to the Mediterranean Sea after the Hamas attack on Israel has given the outside world a hint of an unusual signal.
2. The United States may become a belligerent party, and another Middle East war beckons
Does the withdrawal of US aircraft carriers from the Mediterranean mean that the United States will stop meddling in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Obviously, this is not the case. Now Washington is slipping into a head-on confrontation with the Houthis.
In recent times, the Houthis have launched attacks on a number of ships passing through the Red Sea. Through this action, the Houthis have shown solidarity with Hamas, increased the group's regional influence, and consolidated political support within Yemen. It can be said that without paying too much cost, the Houthis have disrupted global shipping and attracted the attention of the whole world.
The most direct impact of the disruption of global shipping is the increase in transportation costs and insurance rates, which obviously touches the interests of Western countries. In order to support Israel and safeguard its own interests, the United States has formed the so-called Red Sea Escort Alliance, declaring that it will unite more than 20 countries to act together. But some of the allies named by the United States were quick to clarify that they wanted to distance themselves from the U.S.-led Red Sea escort alliance.
But the United States did not give up, and on the Red Sea, US Navy helicopters sank three Houthi ships, and several Houthi fighters were killed in the clashes. After the incident, it was reported that the United States would join forces with the United Kingdom to fire missiles at pre-planned Houthi targets to warn the Houthis to stop their operations.
(U.S. helicopter helicopter sinking helicopter ship)
But the matter did not end there, as soon as the US warning ended, the Houthis issued a statement saying that they had successfully attacked a container ship bound for an Israeli port because the ship continued to sail despite the Houthi warning signals.
The statement stressed that the navigation of ships associated with Israel in the Red Sea will continue to be blocked until the people of the Gaza Strip receive enough food and medicine. At the same time, the Houthis warned the United States not to provide protection to merchant ships or face retaliation or punishment. In short, if the United States wants to continue escorting the escort, the Houthis will dare to continue fighting, and they will not be responsible for what happens at that time.
3. There is more than one enemy, and the US military should think about it
In fact, the U.S. military's enemies in the Red Sea are far more than the Houthis. The other day, the Iranian destroyer "Alborz" has already entered the Red Sea. In this regard, the US side said that it is ready to take self-defense actions to ensure the safety of the US military.
On the same day that the Iranian warship entered the Red Sea, senior officials of Iran's National Security Council met with spokesmen for Yemen's Houthi group to discuss regional security issues and common interests. After these two incidents, it was widely believed that an Iranian destroyer entered the Red Sea alone, and there was a big gap in strength compared with the combat formations of the United States and its allies.
But did the Iranian destroyers enter the Red Sea just to make a statement? I am afraid that there is more than that. According to the analysis of some experts, a regular warship can be said to be a radar station and a communication station. The Houthis rely more on shore-based radars to monitor the Red Sea, and the detection efficiency is obviously not as good as that of warships in the Red Sea, so as long as Iranian warships are present, they can always function as radar stations.
Second, when the Houthi speedboats take action against merchant ships in the Red Sea, if the US Navy comes to intervene, the Iranian warships can stick a stick sideways and play a "shield" role without firing, which can reduce the losses of the Houthi speedboats to a certain extent.
(Iranian destroyer enters the Red Sea)
In addition, the Iranian side may also be convinced that the US Navy will not dare to open fire directly, starting another war in the Middle East. Today, U.S. prestige in the Middle East has fallen to new lows, and the tragedy in the Gaza Strip highlights decades of failed U.S. political, economic, and military intervention in the region. The US media said that if the United States wants to solve the Red Sea issue now, the most important thing for the United States to do is to solve the fundamental demands of the Houthis, end the suffering of the Palestinian people, and stop sending troops to the Middle East.