‘Wider escalation’: Yemen warns Israel of more retaliatory attacks if Rafah invaded

A high ranking official of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement has warned of a broader escalation in its attacks if Israel launches a full-scale invasion of the densely-populated southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Allama Muhammad Muftah, advisor to the President of the Supreme Political Council and Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the National Campaign to Support al-Aqsa said, "The Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and their threat to invade Rafah will be met with a Yemeni response and the launching of the fourth round of escalation," Muftah said.

He was referring to the new phase of the Yemeni army's retaliatory operations on Israeli-bound ships in solidarity with the Palestinians facing the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.

"In case of any escalation [in Rafah], the Yemeni armed forces’ decision is clear, and a more extensive and broader escalation may occur," he told the al-Masirah TV channel on Tuesday.

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Muftah further noted that the group's possible escalation would be "a response to any Israeli audacity, whether an attack on Yemen, Gaza, or any inch of occupied Palestine."

Yemen's threats of broader escalation in attacks “will come to fruition and will achieve its goal and will force the enemy to think a lot about their next actions and revise their calculations before any action.”

This comes as Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, has already declared the “commencement of the fourth phase of escalation,” amid an expected Israeli invasion of Rafah.

Under the new phase, the Yemeni force will target all ships heading to Israeli-occupied ports “in the Mediterranean Sea in any area within our reach,” he said.

Yemen announces new phase in pro-Gaza retaliatory operations

The Yemeni army has announced the start of a new phase in Yemen’s retaliatory operations which it has been conducting in support of Palestinians.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing, cutting off a vital route for humanitarian aid for an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city bordering Egypt.

The Israeli military seized control of the Rafah border crossing after advancing during the night through heavy bombardment of residential areas as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the city. 

The regime says it would continue the operation in Rafah regardless of an agreement by the resistance movement Hamas to a ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Rafah had been designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate the city since the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave.

UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are cautioning about the severe impact of an Israeli military operation in Rafah.

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