Houthi-backed security forces stand guard during a pro-Palestinian rally in Yemen on Friday. AP
Houthi-backed security forces stand guard during a pro-Palestinian rally in Yemen on Friday. AP
Houthi-backed security forces stand guard during a pro-Palestinian rally in Yemen on Friday. AP
Houthi-backed security forces stand guard during a pro-Palestinian rally in Yemen on Friday. AP

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MENA

Israel 'severely damages' Yemen ports in new strikes

Vow to 'eliminate' Houthi leader after attacks on Hodeidah and Salif

Tim Stickings
Tim Stickings

May 16, 2025

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Israel launched strikes on Yemen on Friday, which it said had "severely damaged" Houthi-controlled ports, hours after US President Donald Trump departed the region.

The Israeli military said it "struck and dismantled terrorist infrastructure" at the ports of Hodeidah and Salif, which it said were being used to transfer weapons. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said there were "violent raids" at the ports.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel and the Iran-backed Houthis have exchanged several rounds of strikes, with Sanaa's international airport knocked out of action after the Yemeni rebels landed a missile near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.

"If the Houthis continue to fire missiles at the state of Israel, they will suffer painful blows," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. He said rebel leader Abdul-Malik Al Houthi could be the next top militant "eliminated" by Israel after the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah chiefs.

"Just as we did to Deif and the Sinwars in Gaza, to Nasrallah in Beirut, and to Haniyeh in Tehran ... we will also hunt down and eliminate Abd Malek al-Houthi in Yemen," Mr Katz said, referring to some of the militant leaders killed by Israel.

Israel hit Sanaa on May 6 amid tit-for-tat strikes by the Israeli military and Yemen's Houthis. EPA
Israel hit Sanaa on May 6 amid tit-for-tat strikes by the Israeli military and Yemen's Houthis. EPA

Mr Trump's administration announced a ceasefire with the Houthis this month, after a campaign of US strikes to halt attacks from Yemen on Red Sea shipping. Israel was not part of the ceasefire deal.

Analysts have noted that Mr Trump's Middle East visit highlighted differences between the US and Israel, including in their approach to Syria and Iran. The president did not stop in Israel on his three-country tour.

It was left to Mr Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reassure Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call that the US still has a "deep commitment" to their relationship. While in Riyadh, Mr Trump encouraged Saudi Arabia to establish ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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