ANKARA

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi gave Israel a four-day deadline on Friday to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip or it will resume naval operations against Israel.

Al-Houthi accused Israel of backtracking on commitments under a ceasefire deal, during a speech published by Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

He added that Israel "seeks to return to the policy of genocide through starvation in Gaza," stressing that it "cannot be tolerated."

"We will give a deadline of four days for the (ceasefire) mediators," said the Houthi leader. "After that, we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy, if it continues to prevent the humanitarian aid into Gaza and continues to completely close the crossings.”

Since November 2023, the Houthis in Yemen have launched missile and drone attacks on Israeli targets and Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea in “solidarity with Gaza.”

Israel halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to start negotiations on the second phase of a three-phase ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

More than 48,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 111,800 injured in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold Jan. 19.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.