2023-12-03 19:31:47
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Sunday they had attacked two ships in the Red Sea, adding that “Israeli” ships were being targeted because of the war in Gaza.
In a statement posted on social media, the Houthis said they carried out an “operation once morest two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait,” a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Adentargeting the first with a “missile and the second ship with a drone”.
According to the press release, the vessels were identified as the “Unity Explorer” and the “Number Nine”. It said the attack took place following the two ships “rejected warning messages” from the Houthis. The rebels said they would continue to target Israeli ships “until the Israeli aggression once morest our brothers in the Gaza Strip ceases.”
Earlier in the day, maritime security company Ambrey announced that a Bahamas-flagged British cargo ship was hit by rocket fire while in the Red Sea. According to the Ambrey company, ownership and management of the attacked vessel was linked to Dan David Ungar, a British citizen listed as an Israeli resident in Britain’s main business directory.
The British maritime safety agency UKMTO indicated that it had received a report concerning the activity ofa drone, “including a potential explosion”, “near Bab el Mandeb coming from the direction of Yemen”. She had advised ships in the area to “exercise caution”.
Growing tensions in the Red Sea
This latest incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea following Houthi rebels seized the merchant ship Galaxy Leader with its 25 crew members on November 19. The Galaxy Leader was operated by a Japanese shipping company but belongs to a British company which is itself owned by an Israeli businessman.
Days later, two ballistic missiles were launched from a rebel-controlled area in Yemen, landing regarding 10 nautical miles from a U.S. destroyer, the USS Mason, according to the Pentagon. Wednesday, an American military boat sailing in the southern Red Sea shot down a drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
Supported by Iran
Houthi rebels in Yemen have threatened to attack Israeli and Israeli-allied ships sailing in the Red Sea, in retaliation for the Israeli army’s war once morest Palestinian Hamas in Gaza. Rebels are part of what they call the ‘axis of resistance’ once morest Israelwith groups supported by Iran, such as Palestinian Hamas or Lebanese Hezbollah.
The increase in maritime incidents has prompted the foreign ministers of the countries of the G7 (United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan), during a meeting held earlier this week, to urge the rebels to stop threatening international shipping and to release the Galaxy Leader.
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