The Houthi rebels of Yemen have claimed responsibility this Sunday for several missile and drone attacks that they launched in the last 72 hours against five vessels sailing between the Red and Arabian Seas and the Indian Ocean. The targets were a British ship, two Israeli ships and two American frigates.
The announcement comes a few hours after the British navy warned that two ships had been attacked with three missiles in the last 24 hours in the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandeb Strait, after a period of relative calm in the sea lane. . Fortunately, no victims or damage have been reported, according to this source.
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, stated in a televised speech that they attacked the ‘Hope Island’ ship in the Red Sea, which they identified as “British” although it sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, “with a series of naval missiles suitable , and the impact was direct.” According to him, the MSC Grace F was also attacked in the Indian Ocean and, in the Arabian Sea, the ‘MSC Gina’, both flying the Panamanian flag and which the Houthis identified as “Israeli”.
According to Sarea, these two ships were heading to “ports in occupied Palestine” and included this attack as part of their operations against ships supposedly linked to Israel and within the framework of their actions against the war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Houthi military spokesman, the attack “successfully achieved its objectives”, although no possible damage was specified nor has any information regarding these attacks been released by the affected ships so far. Likewise, the Houthi spokesman said that his forces also attacked several US frigates with drones in the Red Sea.
The Houthis began their offensive in solidarity with Palestine against ships linked to Israel, and later against the United States and the United Kingdom, which attack Yemeni territory in “self-defense.” These attacks have forced large shipping companies to divert their routes from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), which has affected international trade.
