Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis have stepped up attacks in the Red Sea to slow international maritime traffic there and claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
British and American forces shot down 18 Houthi-launched drones and three missiles in the Red Sea on Tuesday evening, in what the British government described on Wednesday as the Yemeni rebels' “biggest attack yet.” The UN Security Council called on Wednesday for an “immediate” end to the Houthi attacks.
“Overnight,” the British ship HMS Diamond and American warships “successfully repelled the largest-ever attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea,” the defense secretary wrote. The British Defense, Grant Shapps, on the social network injured crew or damage to the British ship.
The US Army had announced a few hours earlier that 18 drones and three missiles fired by the Houthis had been shot down as part of a “complex” attack. The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement
In HMS Diamond, October 10th. British Ministry of Defense / Portal
He did not give the date or location of the attack, but a Houthi leader who spoke on condition of anonymity assured AFP that they were the same events reported by American and British forces. The rebels had said their actions were an “initial response to the treacherous attack on our forces on December 31.” That day, U.S. Navy helicopters sank three Houthi boats after requesting help from a merchant ship, killing 10 crew members.
Twenty-sixth attack
This new attack came while the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, was on a regional trip aimed, among other things, at preventing an expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas. “The Iranian-backed Houthis launched a complex Iranian-designed attack in the southern Red Sea using drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship cruise missile,” the American military command in the Middle East (Centcom) said. Centcom said Tuesday night's attack was the 26th against commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea since mid-January.
“Enough is enough. We have to make it clear to the Houthis that this has to stop and that is my simple message to them today: get ready,” threatened Grant Shapps on Sky News. “There is no doubt that Iran is behind what is happening in the Red Sea,” he added. Antony Blinken also accused Iran of “supporting” and “encouraging” attacks in the Red Sea.
“These attacks were supported and encouraged by Iran in terms of technology, equipment, intelligence and information and they have a real impact on the population,” he told reporters in Bahrain. The drones and missiles were shot down by fighter jets from the US aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, three US destroyers and a British warship, the HMS Diamond, Centcom said in a statement.
Also read: Red Sea: 18 aircraft carriers circumnavigate Africa to avoid attacks by Houthi rebels
International maritime traffic slowed
Since the Oct. 7 war between Israel and Hamas began, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have stepped up attacks in the Red Sea to slow international maritime traffic there and claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians from Gaza.
Container ship traffic in the Red Sea has fallen by around 70% since mid-November due to attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in that region, Ami Daniel, head of a consulting firm, said on Wednesday. and expertise in sea transport. “The transit of RoRo vessels carrying vehicles in the Red Sea has decreased by 90%. They no longer cross this region,” says Ami Daniel. Regarding bulk carriers – bulk carriers – he estimates that their number in the Red Sea has fallen by 15% since the Houthi attacks began in retaliation for Israeli bombings in Gaza. Only oil ships still use the Suez Canal, which is accessible from the Red Sea, as frequently as before.
After an attack of unprecedented proportions on Israeli soil that killed 1,140 people, mostly civilians, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas, according to an AFP count based on Israeli figures. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, incessant Israeli shelling in Gaza has left more than 23,210 dead, mostly women, children and teenagers.
Israel's first ally, the United States, formed an international coalition in December to protect maritime traffic from Houthi attacks in this strategic zone, which accounts for 12% of global trade. Britain's Defense Secretary announced on Tuesday evening that another frigate, HMS Richmond, was heading to the Red Sea to “counter attacks” by the Houthis.