One immediate, short-term response, some analysts said, might be a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel, a move that could halt attacks from Hamas's allies, like the Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon. While the Houthis' opposition to Israel long preceded the war in Gaza, the group had rarely attacked Israeli interests before it began. A truce in Gaza could "prompt some kind of a lull for a while" in Yemen and Lebanon, said Relik Shafir, a former general in the Israeli Air Force. But while mediators say they are edging closer to sealing a Gaza cease-fire, key gaps between Israel and Hamas remain, and parts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition oppose compromising on Hamas's main demands. In the long term, the Houthis also remain committed to Israel's total destruction and would most likely not be placated for long by a temporary truce in Gaza or an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. The Houthis are a Yemeni Shiite militia that over the past decade seized control of large parts of western Yemen, including its capital, Sana, and Red Sea coastline.