“Timhouti Salamet”, Yemeni influencer with “Hunger for Martyrdom” and defender of “Free Palestine”

Her resemblance to French-American actor Timothée Chalamet is going viral on social media. Yemeni influencer, Rashid Al Hadad, alias “Pirate Houthi charm“, referring to Yemen's Houthi tribe. For weeks, the 19-year-old has been posting videos of himself on a hijacked container ship, according to a British newspaper. telegram . This type of merchant ship has been regularly hijacked by the Houthis for weeks, as a sign of support for Gaza in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

According to telegramThere will be a ship Galaxy Leader«Flying the Bahamian flag, chartered by Japan“. The Houthis captured this commercial boat owned by an Israeli businessman on November 19. Yemeni rebels posted a video of a helicopter landing on the ship. The video of the ship was first posted on Instagram by Rashid al-Hadad on November 29. It has been ten days since the boat was captured.

In the videos, Rashid Al Haddad strolls the aisles of the ship with other young men, who also take videos and photos. They all boarded the ship on a small wooden boardwalk not far from the beach. Rashid al-Hadad always wears the same outfit – a traditional long brown dress and jacket of the same color – which suggests that he has posted several videos taken from different angles on the same day.

Rashid al-Hadad describes himself as “Ready for sacrifice and eager for sacrifice“, according to telegram And the Houthis are said to have said.Bomb all Israeli ships“. However, the young man with curly brown hair, who is actually Yemeni, may not be a real Houthi. He has not shared other videos on other captured ships. He introduces himself on Threads – X's new competitor – as a “Media personality, actor and photographer», the English daily notes. He also has 31,500 followers on Instagram.

Influence pledged to Palestine

However, the influencer often accompanies his videos with affirmative texts “”Palestinian independence». «Lovers of Palestine, react“, we can read.”I hope my message for a free Palestine reaches you. We will ignite it against the Israeli occupation that violates human rights“, he also wrote, according to telegram.

But if Rashid al-Hadad has become viral on social networks, it is mainly similar to Timothée Chalamet. This earned him the nickname “Timhouthi Salaamed“or”Pirate Houthi charm“. But the many complimentary comments on his physique did not amuse him. The young influencer told his admirers to stop “She is obsessed with beauty», explains telegram. «I'm not talking about beauty or anything else, but our cause is Palestine, and this is no time to talk about beauty», he wrote in X, quoted by the British newspaper.

Read moreThe Houthis have claimed that they attacked a US ship in the Yemeni Sea

The Houthis, who have been waging a nearly decade-long war against Yemen's government, have been targeting merchant ships they believe are linked to Israel in an area critical to international trade. The United States decided to attack the Houthis alongside the United Kingdom and to retaliate with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.