Explained | Who are Houthi rebels causing Red Sea crisis, what do they want

livemint.com:

But who are these Houthi rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea, what do they want? Let's take a deep dive into the crisis: Houthi rebels are backed by Iran. They seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, launching a grinding war. They are formally known as Ansar Allah, or the “partisans of God." As of now, the Yemeni rebel group controls the west of the country, including its Red Sea coast, the Guardian reported.

In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition tried to restore Yemen’s exiled, internationally recognized government to power. After years of "bloody, inconclusive" fighting against the Saudi-led coalition, a stalemated proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran caused widespread hunger and misery in Yemen, the Associated Press reported. The war killed more than 1,50,000 people, including fighters and civilians.

Since then, Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels have done some prisoner swaps. A Houthi delegation was also invited to high-level peace talks in Riyadh in September as part of a wider détente the kingdom has reached with Iran. While they reported “positive results," there is still no permanent peace, the Associated Press reported.

Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea to show support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel's military offensive in Hams-ruled Gaza continues since October 7. The Houthi group has reportedly vowed to continue operations targeting Israeli ships or vessels headed to Israeli ports.

The Houthis stepped up the attacks on November 19, starting with the seizure of the Galaxy Leader. Houthi military spokesman Brig. General Yahya Saree was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the group wants to "prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea