Washington issued a statement on the 18th, saying that it was ready to "continue" to Israel, but was very impatient with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The report notes that Washington has recently begun to show dissatisfaction with its ally Israel amid growing international anger against civilians in Gaza.
It is true that the United States is in trouble because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and more importantly, the United States is in huge trouble in the Red Sea. In the face of frequent attacks and heavy losses on Israeli ships, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin announced on the 18th that he would carry out joint patrols in the Red Sea with 10 countries including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, and France, aiming to protect the safety of ships on this important route.
Israel has taken increasingly extreme measures, but has fallen into an increasingly passive situation. The United States and Israel have shown themselves to be resolute and tough, completely ignoring the opinions of others and ignoring any **. Israel's position is that Hamas must be completely eliminated and the forces of resistance against Israel must be completely destroyed. Even if it meant sacrificing more civilians, women and children, and leading to more humanitarian catastrophes, Israel had no qualms. As the conflict continues, Israel's anger grows day by day. Israel is outraged by the increasing pressure exerted on it by the international community and the fact that military action has failed to achieve its desired objectives.
What makes Israel even more painful is that the longer the conflict lasts, the greater the losses and the higher the risk of military failure. Israel was very angry and began to resort to some extreme measures. They used white phosphorus bombs, flooded underground passages in the Gaza Strip and even indiscriminately bombed hospitals, schools and United Nations institutions. Israel's goal is simple: to eliminate Hamas as quickly as possible and take full control of Gaza. However, things are not as rosy as Israel had expected. Despite Israel's eagerness and extreme measures, it has found that the situation is becoming increasingly difficult. Israel is beginning to feel the pessimism of the situation.
The Houthis have choked Israel by the throat and have had a huge impact on Israel's maritime transport routes. The Houthis have explicitly warned that all ships heading for Israel will be attacked. They had previously only hit Israeli ships, and now they have significantly expanded the range of their attacks. The Houthis explained that due to the ongoing Israeli siege and attacks on the population of Gaza, which have created a serious humanitarian crisis on the ground, it has decided to intensify the Israeli naval blockade, including the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
The Houthis claim that the attack has gone beyond Israeli ships and has instead launched attacks on all ships entering and leaving Israel. This is tantamount to cutting off Israel's maritime bloodline. If the Houthi plan is implemented, the blow to Israel will be fatal. It can be said that the Houthi maritime operation has already shocked Israel. Israel has publicly threatened that if the international community does not act, they will have to act on their own. The most important reason for such a firm warning is that the Houthi actions have already caused huge losses to Israel. According to the Israeli side, Israel's maritime transport has been seriously affected and is suffering huge losses every day.
With losses already exceeding $3 billion and continuing to increase daily, Israel is undoubtedly suffering. The general manager of Israel's Eliat port said with extreme anger that 85% of the port's revenue comes from vehicle imports, but since November 15, more than 140,000 cars could not enter the port, which caused serious damage. The general manager of the port noted that with the escalation of Houthi attacks, more and more cars and goods are unable to enter the port, which makes it difficult for the port to operate normally, and if the situation worsens, the port may have to declare bankruptcy.
According to data published by the Israeli side, the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have already led to Israel's preliminary estimate of losses exceeding $3 billion. In addition to the huge economic losses, the most painful thing for Israel was the attack on various oil tankers and merchant ships, which affected Israel's ability to obtain energy and various supplies. Israel is an extremely resource-poor country that is heavily dependent on imports. Against the backdrop of the escalating conflict, Israel's resource consumption has increased dramatically, and if supplies are not available in time, Israel will be in a very passive position. The losses continue every day, and the problems such as energy ** are also beginning to appear, and Israel is really in pain.
Despite Israel's outrage and stern warnings, it has been slow to act. Israel was clearly angry at the Houthi attack, but they did not take immediate action other than to issue a stern warning. Of course, Israel wants to strike at the Houthis, but the Houthis are somewhat far from Israel. Israel's air force can strike at it, but once the air force is redeployed to Yemen, Israeli ground forces entering the Gaza Strip will face enormous pressure.
Iran's layout is exquisite, and the United States and Israel are at a loss. The Houthis have unceremoniously brought great trouble to the United States and Israel, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is all Iranian conspiracy behind it. The Houthis are only a small player in Iran's strategic chess game, and the real behind-the-scenes leader is Iran. On the whole, Iran's layout this time is too exquisite, so that the United States and Israel have to rush to turn around. They're really in a desperate predicament.
The United States has made it clear that it will not send troops to aid Israel, so Israel does not dare to move its air force at will. The Israeli Navy can only sail in the Red Sea, and it seems that it does not have the spare forces to fight the Houthis, except for escorting its own cargo ships. For Israel, the problem of facing the Houthis is quite a headache. Because the Houthis are not highly concentrated armed groups, even if they launch missile attacks, it is difficult to identify targets and the strike effect is very poor. Saudi Arabia fought against the Houthis for 8 years, and finally lost, and the Houthis were not only not eliminated, but became stronger and stronger. Therefore, although Israel was angry and gave a stern warning, it was slow to act.
The U.S. side is also anxiously looking for a better solution, and the daily consumption makes them sad, but they have never thought of a better way.
The U.S. military sent a large number of additional ** into the Red Sea, the purpose of which was only to escort the ship. However, in the face of drone and missile attacks by the Houthis, the US military is also helpless. The drones used by the Houthis are low-value, each worth only tens of thousands of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Even the missiles used by the Houthis are mostly cheap in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The interceptor air defense missiles used by the US military are as high as more than $1 million each, and some even exceed $4 million. For the U.S. military, intercepting the Houthi target is like a cannon hitting mosquitoes, although it can intercept most of them at a time, but the consumption is too great. Faced with this situation, the US military is very anxious, and the daily consumption of more than 10 million dollars of missiles makes them feel distressed, but they cannot find a good countermeasure.
Iran's strategic deployment is so clever that both the United States and Israel are having a headache. The Houthis have caused a lot of trouble for the United States and Israel, but everyone who understands knows that behind the Houthis is Iran. The actions of the Houthis are all planned by Iran, and it is Iran that really plays a decisive role. In general, Iran's layout this time is really too ingenious, and the United States and Israel are scorched by the attack and harassment. They're really in a desperate predicament.