The Arab world’s last militant leader remains elusive, Abdulmalik al-Houthi’s rise, reach and resolve

The Arab world’s last militant leader remains elusive

Over two years, Israel has killed or crippled leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s proxy networks. One foe persists: Abdulmalik al-Houthi. Reclusive, soft-spoken and rarely seen in public, he has outlasted strikes by Israel, the US and Arab states by hiding in caves, speaking by video from undisclosed locations and betting that bolder opponents have more to lose than he does, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A strategy built on pressure and profile

Al-Houthi’s playbook is simple and defiant: keep firing drones and missiles, keep the costs manageable and keep the world watching. The Gaza war elevated his standing; in parts of the Arab world he is cast as the last militant leader openly confronting Israel. While others backed President Trump’s cease-fire push, the Houthis hit a Dutch-flagged ship with a cruise missile, extending a campaign that has roiled a vital sea lane and drawn the US into naval battles.

The Red Sea campaign that won’t end

Attacks on commercial ships have disrupted a route that normally carries about 12% of global trade. Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have urged the Houthis to stand down, warning of economic harm and urging a return to local Yemeni politics. The answer has been no. The group pledges to respect any truce Hamas signs, but vows to continue its religious war against Israel and the US over time.

A movement fuelled by creed and repression

Inside Yemen, a country of roughly 40 million, the Houthis hold about a third of the territory, including ports and state assets that researchers say generate up to $2 billion a year. Iran supplies drones, cruise missiles, sea mines and fast boats. Recruitment has surged: UN estimates placed Houthi fighters at about 350,000 by late 2024, up from 30,000 in 2015. Human-rights groups document torture, “squeezer” cells, mock executions and public killings ordered by Houthi courts.

The man behind the screen

Supporters call al-Houthi a divinely chosen descendant of the Prophet. He rarely meets outsiders, insisting on video sessions via safehouses and tight security. Weekly speeches frame silence on Gaza as complicity, casting the Houthis as defenders of Palestinians. Posters of him have appeared in Istanbul, Tunis and Tehran; chants praising the group have cropped up in Western protests.

Origins in grievance, shaped by Iran

The movement emerged from Yemen’s Zaidi Shia minority in the 1990s, tapping resentment after Zaidis lost power in 1962. Hussein al-Houthi, Abdulmalik’s older brother, launched a revivalist current that borrowed Iran’s model of a singular, God-chosen leader. After Hussein was killed in 2004, Abdulmalik regrouped fighters in Sa’dah’s caves and led guerrilla warfare—wins that fed a narrative of divine selection.

From Sa’dah to San’a — and a regional stage

During the Arab Spring’s turmoil, the Houthis consolidated Sa’dah and in 2014 seized San’a, alarming Gulf monarchies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened from the air; the Houthis replied with drones and missiles that, even when intercepted, threatened oil facilities and investor confidence. A UN-brokered truce eased pressure, but a broader settlement stalled.

Strikes that sting, not stop

Israel appeared to score an intelligence breakthrough in August, bombing a San’a conference hall and killing senior Houthi officials, including the prime minister, and—Israel says—the military chief of staff. The network adapted. Al-Houthi’s secrecy held, the arsenal endured and the attacks continued.

Washington’s ships and a wary truce

Frustrated by Red Sea strikes, the US surged naval power in the spring. After accidents downed three US warplanes, Washington and the Houthis settled on a narrow understanding not to target each other. The Houthis resumed shipping attacks—sinking two vessels and killing crew—while avoiding US ships. The pattern underscored their resilience and their appetite for calibrated risk.

A wider arc of confrontation

When Israel hit Iran directly in June, Tehran’s network largely held fire. Hezbollah stood aside; Hamas, battered in Gaza, had little left to contribute. Al-Houthi kept shooting and warned Arab states against aiding Israel, signalling a willingness to broaden the fight if pressed. Israeli officials now see the group as a long-term intelligence priority, regardless of how Gaza ends.

Power, revenue and belief

Territorial control, port revenues and Iranian material support sustain the machine; ideology and social engineering replenish it. “Cultural courses” indoctrinate teenagers; child-soldier allegations persist. To many young Yemenis, carrying a gun, making decisions and drawing a salary in a collapsed economy offer identity and status—reinforced by a leader cast as “chosen by God.”

Why he endures

Al-Houthi blends a hard theological core with tactical pragmatism: enough strikes to matter, enough concealment to survive, enough governance to extract revenue, enough foreign backing to rearm. He has turned Gaza into a proving ground for relevance, portraying the movement as the lone force still actively confronting Israel and the US.

What to watch next

Diplomats will keep courting Muscat and Cairo channels; the Houthis will keep trading concessions for recognition they can bank at home. Israel’s intelligence services are likely to intensify their hunt for nodes that matter more than public titles. The US will try to safeguard shipping while avoiding escalation that snaps its tacit understandings. Through it all, al-Houthi’s wager endures: that persistence, sanctified by creed and shielded by caves, can outlast pressure from bigger powers.