The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are a Zaydi revivalist and Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen. The group was founded in 1994 by Hussein al-Houthi and is predominantly composed of Zaydis, a branch of Shia Islam. The movement was created to revive Zaydi traditions and challenge the central government in Yemen.
The organization functions as a military and political power, with an ideology that includes Khomeinism, Shia Islamism, Anti-imperialism, and Anti-Zionism. Their rallying cry is "God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse be upon the Jews, Victory to Islam". The Houthis began the Yemen civil war in 2014 by seizing the capital, Sanaa. They have since used sophisticated missiles and drones, with military and financial support from Iran, to fight the internationally recognized government and a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis are a central player in the Yemen civil war and are considered part of the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance". The conflict is widely viewed as a front in the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war. A significant recent change is their involvement in the Red Sea crisis, where they began launching attacks on international shipping and Israel in October 2023 in protest of the Gaza war. This action led to the US redesignating the group as a terrorist organization in January 2024 and prompted a military response from the US and UK starting January 12, 2024. The attacks on shipping and Israel were halted after the Gaza peace plan went into effect on October 10, 2025.