From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 4 hours ago, updated 1 hour ago
An Israeli Navy missile boat patrols the Red Sea off the port city of Eliat in southern Israel on December 26, 2023. ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP
The Yemeni rebels, in solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas, assured in a press release that they had “carried out a targeted operation against a merchant ship” and “launched drones against military targets” in southern Israel.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, claimed on Tuesday, December 26, to have fired a missile at a ship in the Red Sea and carried out a drone strike on Israel. The US Army, for its part, destroyed 12 drones and five missiles fired by the Houthis in Yemen on Tuesday, the Pentagon said.
The rebels, who show solidarity with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip, assured in a statement that they had carried out “a targeted operation against a merchant ship” called MSC UNITED that had launched “drones against military targets” in southern Israel . The Israeli army said it intercepted “an enemy air target” heading toward its territory.
Since the war began on October 7 between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Houthis have carried out increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships off the coast of Yemen with alleged ties to Israel in solidarity with Gaza. In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American, French and British warships patrolling the area.
Explosions were heard
According to the Pentagon, the Houthis, who control entire 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 global maritime trade flows 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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