Key facts
- Abdul Malik al-Houthi leads Yemen's Houthi movement.
- The Houthi movement controls the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
- The group has attacked Red Sea shipping and Saudi Arabia.
- The Houthis have developed missile and drone technologies with Iranian assistance.
- Training from Iran and Hezbollah has been critical to the Houthi military development.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the elusive commander of Yemen's Houthi movement, has emerged as the central figure behind a recent surge in attacks targeting Red Sea shipping and Saudi Arabia. His leadership has transformed the Houthi group into a significant regional force, capable of disrupting international maritime trade and drawing global attention to the protracted conflict in Yemen.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are an armed political and religious movement that emerged in Yemen in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shi'ite Muslim revival movement under the Houthi family. The group waged six wars against the government before seizing the capital Sanaa in 2014, halting a Gulf-backed political transition and prompting a Saudi-led military intervention. The conflict has since led to years of civil war that ground to a stalemate and a 2022 ceasefire.
During Israel's war in Gaza from 2023-25, the Houthis fired missiles and drones at Israel and international shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians. With Iran under attack by the United States since February 28, the Houthis have again been firing on Red Sea shipping as well as energy facilities inside Saudi Arabia.
The ceasefire collapsed recently, and fighting resumed. The Houthis rapidly advanced into the southern Tihama, seizing the port city of Mocha and the rest of the Red Sea coastline and islands, putting their guns along the entire 12-mile-wide Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These gains make it easier to block shipping on the Red Sea, a key route for Saudi oil exports to Asia, and could serve as a launchpad for a new ground thrust towards Aden.
The group's ability to strike at distance with growing accuracy is why it now matters far beyond Yemen. Houthi ballistic missiles have reached as far as Israel, over 1,000 miles away, and have struck more frequently in Saudi Arabia, targeting cities and infrastructure. Houthi drones have also struck repeatedly at Saudi targets and are increasingly deployed on the battlefield.