The overall situation of the current conflict in the Middle East, judging from the map, it is obvious that two encirclements have been formed, one large and one small. The small encirclement is the Israeli encirclement of the Gaza region, and the large encirclement is the Iranian Shiite arc of the Israeli encirclement against Israel. First, let's look at the situation of the small encirclement: after a brief temporary ceasefire, the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has once again entered a white-hot state. Drawing on the lessons of the first phase of the operation, Israel has adopted the tactics of attacking from multiple fronts and dividing and encircling the entire Gaza region, which is already small, into three parts: northern, central, and southern, and has simultaneously launched ground offensives on the three parts, in an effort to minimize the space for the Palestinian resistance forces to operate. On the other hand, it has tightened the implementation of a comprehensive blockade of the land and sea borders in Gaza and cut off all supplies to Gaza (including food, drinking water, medicine, etc.) for humanitarian assistance, in an attempt to trap and starve the Palestinians who persist in resistance in Gaza.
Next, let's look at the situation of the Great Encirclement: by Iran, Syrian militias, Iraqi militias, Lebanese Allah, The Shiite arc composed of the Houthis and other forces in Yemen, as the direct external supporters of the Palestinian resistance group, constitutes a north-south attack on Israel geographically, although a large-scale regular war has not yet officially broken out with Israel, but all kinds of small fights have continued, effectively restraining a considerable part of the IDF's strength, and causing it to suffer considerable losses in personnel and equipment. In particular, the Houthis in Yemen, in addition to launching various missiles and drones to directly attack the Israeli mainland, also took advantage of their geographical advantage to hold the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea and played a naval blockade in a similar way, seizing or destroying and injuring many Israeli ships. Moreover, what is surprising is that Israel, which is known as the "little bully of the Middle East," and the United States, which has vowed to stand up for Israel, have not made any powerful counterattack so far.
As a result, the Houthi rebels, who have been tested in the early stage, seem to have become more and more emboldened, and the range of action to intervene in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has gradually begun to increase. On 9 December, the Houthis publicly announced that they would further intensify their naval blockade against Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, in light of Israel's continued siege and attacks on the population of Gaza. In the past, only Israeli-flagged and Israeli-controlled vessels were targeted, but now they have been expanded to include all ships heading to or leaving Israel. The Houthis also claim that ships and shipping companies from all over the world can pass through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea as long as they do not deal with Israeli ports. You must know that Israel has no resources of its own, and all kinds of strategic materials such as food and energy depend on foreign trade. Moreover, Israel is a coastal country, and its relations with its land neighbors are quite tense, and its dependence on sea transportation is as high as 90 percent.
Judging from what the Houthis have been doing, it is a master who "looks down on life and death, and does not accept it", and basically no one suspects that it is bluffing. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which it controls, is the only way to the Suez Canal, and the narrowest part is only a few kilometers wide. With such geographical conditions, not to mention the fact that the Houthis have a huge number of missiles and drones of various types, even with simple mines and artillery, they can easily implement an effective blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Unless the United States and Israel launch a heavy military attack on the Houthis and wrest control of the Houthis along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the ground, it will be impossible to ensure the safety of sea routes. However, do the United States and Israel still have the strength to go to Yemen, the land of right and wrong, and make a big effort to brush up on a copy?I'm afraid it's too much to do but not enough power. Originally, because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops and evacuated hundreds of thousands of civilians, and major cities were hit by waves of rockets every now and then, and the economic situation was already very sluggish, so it could only rely on US aid and borrowing to get by.
Now that the Houthis have come up with an upgraded version of the naval blockade, it is undoubtedly worse for Israel, not to mention anything else, just the shipping freight and insurance premiums must be rubbing to the top price is not negotiable, how can Israel's export-oriented economy withstand such a toss?Israel's wishful thinking of trapping Gaza through a protracted war of attrition is not so easy to fight, and in the end, it will not be able to support itself. Of course, it is difficult to assess the actual effect of the naval blockade. After all, whether the Houthis can accurately identify which ships are related to Israel and which are soy sauce parties is a very difficult technical task, and the slightest carelessness can cause innocent people to spark international disputes. As for those third countries that have nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if they are attacked by the Houthis just because they do business with Israel, do they choose to swallow their anger or choose to intervene?These are unpredictable variables. Of the two encirclements in the Middle East, who will have the last laugh, everyone might as well wait and see.