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For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on the escalating armed confrontation in the Red Sea, FRANCE 24's Will Hilderbrandt is joined by Hannah Porter, Freelance Journalist · Independent Consultant and Senior Research Officer on Yemen with ARK Group. The United States and Britain bombed Houthi targets in what they called an intervention to keep one of the world's busiest shipping routes open. But Ms. Porter asserts that this military operation might actually be counterproductive. "When we see these airstrikes, there's a very good possibility that this is actually increasing Houthi popularity domestically, regionally, and now internationally," she explains. "So the Houthis are currently receiving more attention and also more praise than they ever have in their history. And they're certainly enjoying that. I think that they can now point to these direct strikes by the US as an indication or proof that their propaganda has been correct all along. That ultimately they're at war with the US." The Houthi rebels see their attacks on Red Sea commercial vessels "such a success for their public image and playing into their hand." Ms. Porter adds that they will be the first to take credit when Israel's ground incursion in Gaza winds down, and they will in turn cease their Red Sea attacks, for the time being. But she warns that, over long haul, "the Houthis will always know that they have this card in their back pocket. Any time they want to be disruptive, or prove their influence in the region, then they'll know that they have this power, that they can attack ships in the Red Sea."

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