Houthis

Welcome to The Logoff: Today Joshua Keating and I are focusing on a surprising ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis, a pact that signals a new direction in the Trump administration’s approach to a multiyear military struggle in the Middle East.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said late on Sunday they would impose a "comprehensive" aerial blockade on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports, in response to Israel expanding its operations in Gaza.

The Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile strike on Sunday that hit near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the latest in a string of attacks, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen launched a missile targeting northern Israel early Wednesday, according to the Israeli military.

The attack is rare for the Houthis, who have been enforcing a military blockade of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in support of the Palestinian people, tens of thousands of whom have been killed in Israel's war against another Iran-proxy militia, Hamas, in Gaza.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt quickly denied a report that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering replacements for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The White House on Monday blasted an NPR report that a search was underway for a new Pentagon chief as “fake news” following new reporting about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal app and criticism from former Pentagon officials.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed plans about a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen on a second Signal group chat, this one on his personal phone and including his wife, lawyer and brother, three people familiar with the chat told CNN.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of a March attack on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a message group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.

The revelations of a second Signal chat raise more questions about Hegseth's use of an unclassified messaging system to share highly sensitive security details and come at a particularly delicate moment for him, with senior officials ousted from the Pentagon last week as part of an internal leak investigation.

For weeks, US airstrikes have pounded Houthi targets in Yemen, hitting oil refineries, airports and missile sites, with President Trump vowing to use “overwhelming force” until the US achieves its goal of stopping the Houthis from targeting shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis began the campaign in solidarity with Palestinians when Israel went to war in Gaza in October 2023. The group has carried out more than 100 attacks and have sunk two vessels. The result: 70% of merchant shipping that once transited the Red Sea now takes the long route around southern Africa.

The Trump administration is currently facing questions about a story published Monday by a journalist at The Atlantic, who wrote that he had inadvertently been added to an unsecured group Signal message between high-ranking officials — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — discussing plans for an upcoming military strike in Yemen.