Investigation
Yemen's Resistance Thwarts Greater Israel Plot for Red Sea Dominance
Al- Hodeidah- Yemen - Having failed to defeat Yemen's Armed Forces and lift their Red Sea blockade in support of Gaza, Tel Aviv began establishing a foothold in neighboring Somaliland as a means of preparing the stage for a regime change operation against the Ansarallah-led government in Sana'a.
This MintPress News' investigation examines how Yemen's resistance have thwarted an Israeli plot to secure a platform for Red Sea dominance and control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through establishing a strategic foothold in Somaliland and in strategic islands along Yemen's western coastline. Tel Aviv sought to use this web of military outposts to launch a regime change operation, only to have been pre-empted by a large-scale Yemeni offensive.
The strategic passage, of the Bab el-Mandab Strait, was transformed into a pressure point against Israel after Yemen's Ansarallah launched a successful maritime blockade in the Red Sea preventing Israeli ships from transiting the water-way; during Israel's genocide in Gaza. This blockade disrupted Israeli-bound shipping that drove Israel's Eilat Port into a financial crisis, bankrupting its busiest maritime port and forcing it to suspend operations entirely by July of 2025.
In creating a foothold in Somaliland, Israel sought to expand its strategic encirclement of the two countries that have historically stood up to its colonial plans: Iran and Yemen - while Palestine's Arab neighbors helped Israel circumvent Yemen's Red Sea blockade and have built new military alliances through the Abraham Accords.
Israel has spent nearly a decade building its operational and intelligence capabilities by establishing alliances in the Caucasus and Persian Gulf. The Abraham Accords helped accelerate Israel's intelligence capabilities in the region with the goal to target Iran and Yemen.
Israel's military outpost in Somaliland gives Tel Aviv much more than an intelligence outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere with 70% of Yemen's commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea's Hodeidah Port.
It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Sitting adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Straight and less than 80 miles away from Yemen's coastline, Somaliland became a strategic foothold in the horn of Africa to establish a military and intelligence post to fulfill Israel's regional expansionist goals. This week, US President Donald Trump described Somaliland as "a total different country" boosting Somaliland's quest to become Africa's newest country and Israel's new military colony to control the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, following the collapse of the nation's central government, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition. As a result, Somaliland's separatist leadership has proven itself politically willing to cooperate with any external party that simply recognizes its independence. Israel has exploited this opportunity, exchanging recognition for the establishment of military positions, as well as a number of logistical and intelligence support centers at the Port of Berbera along the Gulf of Aden.
In reaction to emerging reports of Israeli presence on Somalia's internationally recognised territory, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that Israel's recognition of the Somaliland region came after the separatist authorities accepted three key Israeli conditions: The establishment of a military base on the Gulf coast, to help in the "resettlement" of Palestinians displaced from Gaza, and joining the Abraham Accords.
"Israel has no peaceful intentions in coming to Somalia, and the world, especially Arab and Muslim nations, must view this Israeli move as a serious threat", remarked Somalia's President, adding that "the presence of Israel will be felt by everyone in the region." Mogadishu has vowed to "confront" this project from taking place on its soil, but is yet to take any tangible measures.
A high-ranking official within Yemen's ruling Ansarallah Party informed MintPress News that it considers the acceptance of Somaliland's leadership to facilitate the ethnically cleansing the people of Gaza transgresses against its own red lines, as well as those of the Arab and Islamic World.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin announced his official recognition of Somaliland as a state on December 26, 2025, a joint cooperation agreement was immediately signed, followed by the mutual opening of embassies in occupied Jerusalem as well as Hargeisa. Somaliland's Abdirahman Abdullah then declared that his separatist movement does not rule out the establishment of an Israeli security presence in the country.
According to a Sana'a government intelligence official that spoke to MintPress News, Israeli officers of African origin are already operating inside Somaliland and are integrating their own military infrastructure with those of the separatist authorities. This includes aircraft hangars, air-defense systems, advanced radars, a command and control room, in addition to logistical support centers, the sources claimed.
In June, the Middle East Eye reportedthat Tel Aviv had deployed a small military force to Somaliland. Citing a senior Somali government official, the report alleges that the force is composed of approximately 50 soldiers and was sent to Somaliland shortly after Israel recognized the breakaway region as a state.
MintPress News was informed, by two high-ranking Ansarallah political sources and a military official, that the Israeli threat posed from Somaliland had played a role in prompting the recent offensive to take control of the nation's Western coastline and islands - including Mayyun (Perim) island that is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These islands had provided the Israeli military and intelligence services with an advantage over the Yemeni Armed Forces, who had been granted access to facilities built and operated by Emirati-backed forces previously stationed there.
The Yemeni move, according to the same officials, came as a preemptive step aimed at depriving Israel of advanced positions to the west of Yemen, and establishing new positions from which to confront Israel in Somaliland itself - by taking advantage of the strategic Yemeni islands' proximity to Somaliland.
Yemen's Sana'a-based Foreign Ministry had previously issued a series of strongly worded warnings against both Israel and the authorities of Somaliland, cautioning them from establishing any military bases or security presence in the region overlooking the Gulf of Aden.
The Strategic Military Importance Of Somaliland For Greater Israel
Israel's military positioning in Somaliland would give it far more than an intelligence post, according to an analysis of the territory's strategic value, Situated near Yemeni's western coast-including the city Hodeidah,
Israel's capture of territory through its use of Somaliland separatists gains Tel Aviv much more than an observation outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere in 70% of Yemen's commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea's Hodeidah Port.
It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Beyond aiding in the surveillance and air defense sphere's, Israel's strategic positioning would also enable them to more effectively launch large-scale offensive operations inside Yemen. If their presence expands significantly, they could potentially even impose an air and naval blockade on the country.
The same experts expressed that this power could be harnessed to carry out extensive missions across the entire Horn of Africa, Red Sea, and result in it asserting dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A fear of this reality being imposed likely played into compelling a broad rejection of Israel's Somaliland recognition from the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and various African States.
Establishing a foothold in Somaliland has been a long-standing Israeli objective, predating the Ansar Allah movement's presence in Yemen. Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had even set the strategic objective of securing access to the Red Sea and finding ways to combat what was then the threat of a blockade over the Straits of Tiran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz during his meeting with the president of the breakaway Somali region, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, on June 17th:
"Israel and Somaliland have a long-standing friendship based on shared interests. We have cooperated for many years discreetly in a series of operations that will remain confidential". "We are determined to elevate our security cooperation to new levels, for the benefit of both peoples and for the sake of stability in the region", he added.
"We are closely monitoring developments in Somalia and the activities of the Israeli enemy in the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea. We will take the initiative at any time to target any Israeli activity in Somalia, and we will not stand idly by in the face of any Israeli presence there", declared Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in response to reports of Israel's intent to deploy military assets to the region.
Al-Houthi directly threatened practical steps against the Israeli presence, asserting that "we will not wait for the hesitant and complacent regimes. Rather, we will take the initiative whenever the Israeli enemy establishes any presence in Somalia, targeting it with all available means."
Israel Loses Its Foothold In Bab El-Mandeb