"The Houthis have launched these attacks in staunch opposition to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which have killed close to 30,000 people in four months, according to Al Jazeera. Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, has repeatedly stated that their military operations against ships in the Red Sea will 'stop immediately and without conditions' when the 'aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted'."
February 26, 2024
To:
Lauren Sproule, Reporter, CBC News
Nancy Waugh, Editor-in-Chief, CBC News
Dear Lauren Sproule,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express concern regarding an article titled “Concerns over tea shortages are brewing in the U.K. But how serious is the threat to supply?” published on February 25 by CBC News.
My principal concern lies at the very beginning of your article, where you state that “Yemen’s Houthi rebels began launching attacks on vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.” Which vessels are they attacking? What are the Houthis’ motivations for these attacks? What are Palestinians currently experiencing for Houthis to launch these types of attacks? These are all critical questions that your article fails to address in an article about tea shortages due to the “unrest” in the Red Sea to which you refer.
Your brief sentence oversimplifies why the Houthis have been launching attacks against ships in the Red Sea. According to the Associated Press, the Houthis have threatened to attack “any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel.” The Houthis have launched these attacks in staunch opposition to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which have killed close to 30,000 people in four months, according to Al Jazeera. Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, has repeatedly stated that their military operations against ships in the Red Sea will “stop immediately and without conditions” when the “aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”
For readers to adequately understand the Houthis and their motivations for these attacks, please provide some of the context I’ve provided above.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East