Gazans Embrace Yemen: 'The Houthis Are Our People'

Palestinian journalist Yousef Fares reports from Gaza for Al-Akhbar.

Despite the divided public opinion in the Gaza Strip on the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, the people of Gaza, with all their factions and political orientations, whether with the resistance or against it, rejoiced that the Yemenis did not hesitate to support the Gaza Strip. Gazans recognize that the Yemenis have now willingly entered into open armed conflict with the United States, all in the name of stopping the siege on Gaza.

Before October 7th, the general sentiment in Gaza was aligned with the systematic disinformation campaigns against the Ansarallah Movement, such as: “They are the Shia who bombed the Ka’aba” or “the rebels who stole the Yemeni revolution.” While everyone was preoccupied with daily concerns, the majority did not investigate the true nature of those perspectives. Even the sincere solidarity conveyed by mass marches held in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a has never received the local media coverage it deserved.

However, all of that has changed now; the streets of Gaza, for the first time, recognize the impoverished Yemeni, who is rich in resistance and absolutely ready to sacrifice for a cause that Palestinians, largely did not realize held such a significant position in the Yemeni religious and political consciousness. In the wake of the US-British airstrikes on Yemeni cities on Thursday night, Gazans faith in and sympathy with the Yemeni people has multiplied many times.

Hussein Ahmed, a local school teacher interviewed by Al-Akhbar in Jabalia camp, expressed his position: “The Houthis are our people, our closest supporters, and we owe them a great debt. We haven’t tried to get closer to them or support them during the years when the Arabs waged war on them. Yet, in this current war, they were the first to support and stand by us, the first to go all-in to stop the war.”

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Hajj Ramadan Mansour, who lives in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood, is proudly adding new names to his list of national heroes. He told Al-Akhbar: “By Allah, I am delighted by the voice of Yahya Saree, I admire Mohammed al-Bukhaiti when he bombs the invaders and then mocks them. I love Mahdi al-Mashat. These are the soldiers whom Allah has provided to the resistance here. They have surprised us with their sincerity, honesty, and simplicity… May Allah protect them.”

In the streets of Gaza, people are talking about “people like us,” who are stubborn, patient, resilient, and even “crazy” in their support for the Palestinian cause. Hajj Abu Ra’ed tells Al-Akhbar: “By Allah, no one else is like us except Ansarallah. No one else disregards logical political calculations when there is a sacred duty to defend, except us in Gaza and our people in Yemen.”

On Palestinian social media, solidarity with Yemen transcended all ideological and political differences. The hashtag #عزيز يا يمن or “Dear Yemen” has echoed across thousands of Facebook accounts. Activists also shared clips of the Yemeni armed forces seizing the “Israeli” ship Galaxy Leader, and applauding the strength and determination of the Yemeni people.

Thus, the US-British strike wiped clean the smear campaigns that have sullied Ansarallah’s image in Palestine for years. Even the fiercest opponents of armed resistance have nothing to say against these people who emerged from war and famine, returning to the fight in fierce support of resistance in Gaza.

(Al-Akhbar) by Yousef Fares

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/DZ/JRE