YEMEN's Houthi forces' missile attacks on Red Sea shipping in support of Gaza's surprise attack on Israeli civilian targets, has effectively blockaded the Suez Canal, reports the Washington Post.
Houthi attacks targeted ships linked to Israel, though it attacks focussed on any ship that might have reason to go to Israel.
The Houthis hijacked a Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader and took its 25 crew members hostage. Though the ship was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire, no Israelis were aboard.
The Houthis say they are angered over "genocidal war" made on Gaza. Unlike Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis are not Palestinian, and do not share a border with Israel like Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
But the Houthis, who who have held Yemen's capital for nearly a decade have received military aid from Iran, the most powerful regional rival for Israel.
In 2017, Reuters interviewed an unnamed Iranian official who said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was working out ways to "empower" the Houthis against their Saudi-backed rivals in Yemen.
The Houthis slogan is "God is the greatest; Death to America; Death to Israel; Curse the Jews; Victory to Islam."
The owner of the 19,999-dwt Cayman Islands-flagged product tanker Swan Atlantic says his ship struck by unidentified object but none of its crew was hurt, reports Qatar's Aljazeera.
The US Navy Arleigh Burke-class, guided-missile destroyer USS Carney has been intercepting drones and missiles in the Bab al-Mandab Strait in recent months|
Yemen's Houthi rebels say they have launched a drone attack targeting two cargo vessels in the Red Sea, the latest in a series of assaults that have disrupted maritime trade as freight companies seek to avoid the area.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea identified the vessels as the MSC Clara and Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic and said the attacks were carried out after their crews failed to respond to calls from the group.
The vessel's operator, Uni-Tankers, said the attack caused a small fire, which the crew brought under control, and the ship, carrying vegetable oils, continued to Reunion Island.
A British maritime authority said it had received a report of a vessel that "experienced an explosion" on its port side in an attack 24 nautical miles (44km) northwest of Yemen's al-Makha (Mocha) port.
The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, have pledged to continue carrying out attacks until Israel halts its assault on Gaza. However, in an initial indication of possible moderation, the group said on Saturday that real steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza would contribute to "reducing the escalation". |
