In response to Israel’s assault on Gaza, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis, have launched explosive-laden drones and fired ballistic missiles at ships in the Red Sea. The stated objective of these attacks is to disrupt the trade of ships heading to Israel or affiliated with Israel, aiming to impose an economic cost for the atrocities in Gaza in a critical sea lane for global trade.

The United States and UK have retaliated with extensive air strikes against Houthi positions and vowed to continue until the Houthis end their Red Sea campaign. What do the people of Yemen, in a country already ravaged by years of civil war and foreign intervention, think about the action of the Houthis and the US response?

Interviews I have conducted with ordinary Yemenis indicate that their solidarity with Palestinians is already shifting their political allegiances and is of a depth that no US military action can diminish. Many Yemenis who are politically hostile to Ansar Allah — even those who previously took up arms against their forces — nonetheless approve of their challenge to Israel and its Western allies.