The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni Shiite rebel group, claimed on Tuesday, December 26, to have carried out “a targeted operation against a merchant vessel identified as a United military” in the Red Sea and to have launched “drones against targets military” in southern Israel. The Israeli army, for its part, said it had intercepted “an enemy air target” moving toward its territory.
Since the war began on October 7 between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, rebels have carried out increased attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen with alleged ties to Israel in solidarity with the Islamic movement and the Palestinian Red Sea enclave.
In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American, French and British warships patrolling the area.
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A hundred attacks in a few weeks
According to the Pentagon, the Houthis, who control swathes of Yemeni territory including the capital Sanaa, have already launched around a hundred drone and missile attacks, targeting a total of 10 merchant ships from more than 35 countries.
These attacks, which threaten to disrupt the flow of global maritime trade along a strategic route, have prompted the United States to establish a multinational maritime defense force in the Red Sea.
Earlier in the day, explosions were heard and rockets were seen near a ship in the Red Sea near the rebel-held western port of Hodeida, Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO said, without reporting any casualties or damage.
Two other explosions occurred shortly before near another ship, again off the coast of Hodeida, the British Maritime Authority said, with no damage or casualties reported. The boat continued its journey.
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