Leaders from Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad held an “important meeting” with a Houthi delegation in Beirut last week, according to a report by AFP.
An anonymous Houthi representative disclosed to the French news agency that the talks centered on aligning efforts for the continuation of fighting the Israeli military in Gaza. The source said that the topic of discussions focused on “expanding confrontations and encircling” the Jewish state to implement the “next stage” of the conflict.
One Palestinian representative added that the gathering also sought to look for ways that the Iran-backed Islamist group could assist in providing defensive measures in the event of an IDF offensive in Rafah. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has informed Westen leaders that an attack on the southern city is all but imminent.
Since the start of the October war in Gaza, Houthi forces have been disrupting regional commerce by targeting civilian commercial vessels in the Red Sea with hijackings and shore-based missile attacks. The Yemen-based group's stated purpose of these actions is to show support for Hamas during the war in the coastal enclave.
The terrorist organizations that attended the conference are self-described members of the “axis of resistance,” who have stated their intention to collaborate in an attempt to destroy Israel as a state.
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