Swiss report confirms that the attacks are supervised by the “Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center” run by Ahmed Hamed, a close associate of Mahdi al-Mashat.

Maritime attacks by Houthis in Yemen against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are overseen by a “humanitarian operations coordination center” established by the Houthis this year, a Swiss NGO investigation has found.

According to an InPact investigation, operations targeting shipping off the coast of Yemen were overseen by the “Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center” (HOCC).

The center was established in February by a decree issued by the head of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, the highest political official of the Iran-backed Houthi group. The center reports to “the office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and is under his supervision,” according to the decree, which was published by Houthi-affiliated media outlets at the time. The center is tasked with “mitigating the humanitarian impacts and repercussions in the theater of military operations” by ‘complying with international humanitarian law and other relevant international laws and charters’ and ”communicating and coordinating internally and externally with all parties, governmental and non-governmental entities and international organizations.”

The Swiss organization confirmed that the center is run by “Ahmed Hamid, who is an influential figure in the Houthis and close to Mahdi al-Mashat and the Houthi armed forces.”

A report issued by a United Nations expert group on Yemen in 2021, considered Hamed “perhaps the most powerful Houthi civilian leader outside the Houthi family.”

Since November, the Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea that they say are linked to Israel or heading to its ports, which they say is in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas since October 2023.

To try to deter them, U.S. and British forces have been conducting strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen since January 12. The U.S. military alone occasionally carries out strikes on missiles and vehicles it says are intended for launch. The Houthis have subsequently confirmed that US and British ships are now legitimate targets.

The Swiss organization's investigation touched on the modus operandi of the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, which controls the selection of companies whose ships are allowed to transit the waterways bordering Yemen, especially the Bab al-Mandab Strait. “The Humanitarian Aid Coordination Center is likely involved in identifying targets and attacks,” he explained.

According to the organization, the center “institutionalizes the armed group's maritime guerrilla warfare” and “provided means for ships to communicate with the organization directly” such as radios, phone numbers and email addresses.

The Swiss organization published an email sent by the Houthis in March to the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is responsible for maritime safety. This document prevented the transit of ships belonging to four categories of carriers: Those owned, operated or managed by Israel, the United States or Britain, as well as those whose vessels are destined for an Israeli port. The center asked the UN organization to inform the companies that own and operate the ships, as well as insurance companies.

Houthi attacks have led to a sharp decline in shipping traffic off the coast of Yemen.