Washington should seek to build a practical alliance of regional and Western states to coordinate security, impose a logistical blockade on Houthis, and enforce sanctions.By Khaled Alyemany, Middle East ForumHamas’s acceptance of President Donald Trump’s initiative in its October 3, 2025, statement—with one yes and many no’s—marked the beginning of its political demise.The U.S. proposal, broadly backed by Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims, offered a rare chance to pull Gaza out of its spiral of violence and neutralize one of Iran’s last terrorist proxies, which has strangled Gaza since its 2007 coup, leaving only ruin and death.Hamas knows its refusals now mean little after the Palestinian Authority and the Arab and Islamic world agreed to extract Gaza from this tragic quagmire, tied to a Trump pledge for a Marshall Plan-style program of reconstruction, peace, and prosperity.In the early months of his second term, Trump and his team have pressed to resolve conflicts deemed insoluble.By addressing one of the most protracted and painful disputes of the modern Middle East, Trump is projecting a renewed America—a force for peace, cooperation, and prosperity. His efforts deserve international recognition.Yet the administration should complete another critical mission it began in the region: Operation Rough Rider, designed to end Houthi threats to international shipping.The campaign was suspended after Omani mediation and Houthi promises to halt attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis have broken these promises.The Houthis are again issuing threats, even announcing sanctions on U.S. shipping companies.They feed their illusion that they stand as champions of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance.” The solution, therefore, must be comprehensive—political, security-based, and sustained.The Houthis care little for Yemenis under their control. Death, displacement, and famine mean nothing to them so long as they serve Iran’s expansionist agenda.A serious strategy must choke off their finances and logistics, and cut supply lines by air, land, and sea.This requires international oversight of ports and crossings, expanded coast guard and maritime policing in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, fair incentives for security forces, and the final neutralization of Hudaydah’s three ports.Without such measures, it will be impossible to sever the Houthis’ networks of funding and arms, supplied through Iran and, at times, via China, North Korea, and Russia—using ports and land routes in areas controlled by the Internationally Recognized Government, and illicit corridors through the Horn of Africa.To their credit, Southern Transitional Council security units and the National Resistance have recently foiled multiple smuggling attempts, proving their reliability as partners for the international community.This stands in contrast to reports of collusion with the Houthis by certain internal actors.Three priorities should guide the international response:First, there needs to be a disciplined coalition. Washington should seek to build a practical alliance of regional and Western states to coordinate security, impose a logistical blockade on Houthis, and enforce sanctions.Second, there must be enhanced monitoring and control. The United States and its partners should train, modernize, and fund coast guard and maritime units in the Gulf of Aden, while empowering local security services in partnership with donor states to curb smuggling.Third, the anti-Houthi coalition should not neglect the need for economic and humanitarian stabilization.There must be relief and development projects in liberated areas tied to secure networks that prevent infiltration of arms.Defeating the Houthi project is not a luxury; it is an international security necessity.Completing the work launched by the Trump administration requires political will to empower local legitimate authorities and diminish Iran’s proxies. The status quo is not enough.The task must be integrated—political, security, and humanitarian—with firm commitments from great powers and regional states alike.Either finish the job and eliminate the Houthi threat or leave it incomplete and watch the cycle of violence restart. This is a collective responsibility.Under Trump’s leadership, completing the mission would fulfill America’s promise to help build a Middle East that is both peaceful and prosperous.The post Hamas is finished, but the Houthis remain appeared first on World Israel News.