Israeli officials shocked by US-Houthi ceasefire: Media

ANKARA

A surprise ceasefire between the US and Yemen’s Houthi group has shocked Israeli officials, as Tel Aviv was unaware of efforts aimed at reaching such a deal, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced the ceasefire on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said the Houthi group will not carry out attacks on commercial ships.

"We were completely shocked. Israel was not informed before (US President Donald) Trump made the statement," an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post.

The Israeli daily said the ceasefire “doubly surprised Israel” as it came shortly after Tel Aviv received "a protective security umbrella" for its airstrike on the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday.

The Times of Israel news portal, citing Israeli officials, said the US "didn't give Israel advance notice" before Trump's announcement.

An Israeli source familiar with the matter, speaking to Israel Hayom newspaper, described the ceasefire announcement as "very bad news for Israel," particularly amid the ongoing US negotiations with Iran.

The US-Houthi ceasefire agreement came shortly after Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes targeting Sanaa airport, power stations, and industrial facilities in the Yemeni capital and Amran province in the north and the Red Sea port of Al-Hudaydah.

The Houthi group confirmed the ceasefire with Washington, saying it has no relation to its confrontation with Israel in support of the Palestinian people.

Yemen has faced an intensified US military campaign since mid-March, including around 1,300 air and naval strikes, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, according to the Houthis.

The group has targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 52,600 people have been killed, most of them women and children, during the course of Israel’s indiscriminate war.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and Hamas, but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.