[Brick wall art of the Yemen flag. Photo credits to Pixabay]

As of January 12th, the United States, along with the United Kingdom, launched missile strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

In a brief explanation, the Houthis are an Islamic extremist group located in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen.

Part of the “Axis of Resistance,” an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias, the Houthis, along with Hamas and Hezbollah, are backed by Iran and have ties in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The Houthis have a slogan that goes: “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam.”

The Houthis show full support to Hamas in their war effort and are going as far as to attack any ship traveling towards Israel, whether they were going to Israel or not.

They have attacked a wide variety of ships, ranging from supply ships for Israel to oil tankers belonging to countries not participating in the war.

For these reasons, the United States and the United Kingdom are launching missiles at key Houthi complexes.

Four countries - Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands - have all agreed to provide logistical support to the US and the UK in their effort to stop the Houthis.

Countries including Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, and South Korea signed an agreement with the six countries mentioned before to protect overnight attacks and may press military action if the Houthis do not surrender.

Other countries in Europe have shown hesitation regarding this matter, including Italy, Spain, and France.

The Italians have reached an agreement to mostly remain on the defensive in these attacks to protect other countries and their shipping vessels traveling in the Red Sea.

To fully partake in the attacks with the US, the Italian parliament would need to reach an agreement to either join or abstain from the matter.

The French government has chosen to remain undecided, fearing that any involvement with the Houthis could injure talks between Israel and Hezbollah.

They are also skeptical of the American strikes on Houthi positions, questioning whether they were truly an act of self-defense.

This is another reason why the French are choosing to back out of this operation due to legal reasons.

The Spanish choose to abstain from the entire conflict in the Middle East, aiming to promote peace in the region and avoid causing destruction.

In the end, all three of these countries chose not to put their naval vessels in the hands of United States command, as they are unwilling to do so.

The countries are also involved in an anti-piracy campaign in the Horn of Africa, so sending ships to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa would be considered as spending extra resources.

The EU as a whole is currently deciding on a naval mission to Yemen; however, it is undecided if the operation will be approved.