The Houthi movement (/ˈhuːθi/; Arabic: ٱلْحُوثِيُّون al-Ḥūthīyūn [al.ħuː.θiː.juːn]), officially called Ansar Allah (ʾAnṣār Allāh أَنْصَار ٱللَّٰه "Supporters of God") and simply known as Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement. It began in Saada in Northern Yemen in the 1990s. The Houthi movement is a Zaidi Shia majority force.
Under the leadership of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the group was an opposition to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and participated in the Yemeni Revolution.
Since October 2023, the Houthis have been engaged in the Red Sea Crisis.
On January 6, Houthi launched an attack on the USS Laboon, a destroyer in the United States Navy. Three days later on January 9, Houthi launched a series of drones and missiles at dozens of merchant ships, which caused the United States navy and United Kingdom's navy to respond. On January 14, the Houthis again launched an attack on the USS Laboon. On January 15, Houthi launched an attack and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, United States-owned and operated bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle. On January 17, Houthi launched a one-way suicide drone and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, United States-owned and operated bulk carrier Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthi movement (formally known as Ansar Allahor Partisans of God) is a predominantly Zaydi Shia revivalist political and insurgent movement formed in the northern Yemeni governorate of Saada under the leadership of members of the Houthi family.