From Le Figaro with AFP
Published yesterday at 9:06 p.m., updated yesterday at 10:13 p.m.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) of the United States Navy. GREG JOHNSON / AFP
A U.S. warship opened fire in the Red Sea on Wednesday, destroying a drone that was heading toward the ship from Yemen, the Pentagon said.
The US Defense Department did not say who fired the device, but a senior official of the Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed movement, said the drone belonged to them. “On November 15, in the international waters of the Red Sea, the crew of the USS Thomas Hudner fired on a drone that was originating from Yemen and was heading toward the ship,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “The crew shot down the drone,” he added, stressing that the incident caused no damage or injuries.
Deep anger
Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for several drone and rocket attacks from Yemen. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior Houthi official, said on X (formerly Twitter) that the drone belonged to the rebels and that they “reserve the right to retaliate against its destruction.”
Last month, the U.S. Navy shot down several missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and are “part of the axis of resistance” against Israel.
The war was triggered by the bloody attack on Israeli soil by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, unprecedented since Israel’s founding. According to the authorities, around 1,200 people were killed that day, mostly civilians massacred. In retaliation, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas, which it, like the United States and the European Union, considers a “terrorist” organization, and is relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip, which is under complete siege.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, a Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas and under Israeli blockade since 2007, Israeli bombings have claimed 11,500 lives, mostly civilians, including 4,710 children. Described as a “catastrophe” by the United Nations, the situation in Gaza sparked deep anger across the Middle East and encouraged attacks against Israel and American troops stationed in the region. The Houthis said last week they had shot down a US drone, while US forces in Iraq and Syria were targeted by drone and missile attacks.