The Axis of Resistance fighting against Israel is made up of groups that operate in several countries and all converge against Israel: Hamas and allied militias, Palestinian area; Islamic Resistance, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Syria; Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela; Ansar Allah, Yemen, Jordan, Sinai.
The Biden Administration has provided Israel with about $17.9 billion in military aid to meet its war needs against these groups that are part of the Axis of Resistance since October 7 of last year and has spent at least another $4.86 billion in its fight against the Houthis of Yemen. To this must be added the costs for Israel’s defense on October 2, about $100 million or perhaps more.
The US-led campaign to combat Yemen’s Houthis, whom the Biden administration removed from the terror blacklist before adding them back, is estimated to have cost taxpayers nearly $4.86 billion. Another $2 billion could be needed in the coming months, according to the latest figures.
Since the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, 2023, Ansar Allah fighters have not only successfully thwarted merchant ships in the Red Sea region, but have also systematically destroyed Western coalition drones, particularly American MQ-9A Reapers.
In the Yemeni province of Dhamar, Houthi air defenses neutralized the tenth “Reaper” since the escalation in Palestine and Israel on September 16. Considering the cost of a single reconnaissance and attack drone of 30 million dollars, in total the Yemeni “fighters in sandals” have shot down such UAVs for a total value of 310 million dollars. The eleventh was shot down on September 30 in the province of Saada.
And if until the end of September, the sights of Ansar Allah were confined to the Bāb el-Mandeb Strait and reconnaissance drones, with what they themselves defined as the fifth phase of the escalation, Israeli cities ended up in their sights. Starting from October 2, they targeted on different days: Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa using missiles and drones: source: Ansar Allah military spokesperson.
On October 4, the United States and Great Britain launched a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the city of Hodeidah. The US Central Command announced the destruction of fifteen targets of the Shiite movement Ansar Allah in Yemen. “The targets were weapons depots, air defense systems, the territory of the naval academy and military infrastructure of the Houthis in the provinces of Sana’a, Hodeidah and Damar. The attack used Tomahawk missiles launched from the nuclear submarine USS Georgia in the Red Sea. According to the Pentagon, the destruction of the facilities “will reduce the military potential of the Shiite movement.”
In response, the Houthis posted online the video of the attack on the British oil tanker Cordelia Moon and on October 7 they attacked Tel Aviv.
In the propaganda video showing the attack on the Cordelia Moon, the following words can be heard: “Promised victory and holy jihad. Monitoring the operation to attack the British oil tanker CORDELIA MOON, the actions of the Yemeni armed forces with an unmanned boat, as well as combat operations to attack American and British ships and the continuation of the Israeli naval blockade.”
At this rate, the amount that the United States will have to shell out to fight the Houthis is set to increase.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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