The Houthi rebel group in Yemen has escalated the Middle East conflict by threatening to block a second vital oil shipping route, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The warning came after the group launched a missile attack on Israeli military sites, raising fears of further disruption to global energy markets.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, known as the 'Gate of Tears', is an 18-mile-wide waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It controls sea traffic towards the Suez Canal, through which 10% of global seaborne trade passes, including a fifth of container traffic and 10% of crude oil.
Houthi deputy information minister Mohammed Mansour said on Saturday: 'We are conducting this battle in stages, and closing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is among our options.' The group's military leaders said they are considering closing the route, which is used as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, already disrupted by Iran.
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, described the Houthis' involvement as 'very significant'. He said: 'If they decided to move to shut down the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and, ultimately, the Suez Canal, we would have two major choke points [closed] along with the Strait of Hormuz.'
Ibrahim Jalal, a senior researcher on Yemen and the Gulf, said the threat is 'very alarming, especially when it's compounded by a coordinated multi-strait blockade'. He told Al Jazeera: 'This is exactly the theatre that Iran has been preparing for.'
The Houthis have held Yemen's capital Sanaa since 2014. During the Israel-Hamas war between 2023 and 2025, they attacked more than 100 merchant vessels, sinking two ships and killing four sailors. Shipping through the Suez Canal fell from 26,000 to 12,700 vessels during that period.
