Following the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthi Movement, formally known as Ansarallah, launched strikes against Israel in a move of solidarity with the Palestinians. Shortly thereafter, the Houthis began to target commercial shipping, primarily in the Red Sea but also in the adjacent Gulf of Aden. These drone and missile attacks have rerouted much of the maritime traffic destined for the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope, on Africa’s southernmost tip. Shipping and insurance costs have soared. Egypt, which already faced a financial crisis prior to these attacks, has lost as much as half of its revenues from the Suez.

The protection of international waterways is a longstanding mission of the US Navy. Together with various international partners, the US launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in response to the Houthi’s attacks. Many seem perplexed as to why the attacks persist, and why the US-led coalition cannot put an end to them. The analysis in this report describes the conditions in the region, and explains why military solutions have failed and will continue to do so.

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