Aden — Israeli media outlets have pointed fingers at Yemen’s Houthi militia for the recent severing of undersea internet cables in the Red Sea, an incident that disrupted connectivity across parts of Asia and the Middle East. The accusations come amid growing regional tensions and heightened scrutiny of maritime infrastructure vulnerabilities.

According to reports from The Times of Israel and Globes, the cable outages affected major systems including SMW4 and IMEWE near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, leading to degraded internet performance in countries such as India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. While the exact cause remains unconfirmed, Israeli analysts suggest the damage may be part of a broader campaign by the Iranian-backed Houthi group to pressure Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas.

The Houthis have denied involvement in previous cable attacks, but the timing and location of the disruption have raised suspicions. “This incident exposes the vulnerability of global communications infrastructure to asymmetric threats,” noted Globes, highlighting the strategic importance of the Red Sea corridor.

Microsoft acknowledged the disruption on its service status page, warning of increased latency for users in the Middle East due to the fiber cuts. Meanwhile, NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, confirmed widespread connectivity issues linked to the outages.

As repair crews prepare to assess and restore the damaged lines, regional governments and telecom operators are urging caution and calling for enhanced protection of critical infrastructure. The incident has reignited debate over the security of submarine cables and the geopolitical risks posed by non-state actors in maritime zones.