United States: The US military’s Central Command has announced launching strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen by military forces. The US military stated that it had launched four “self-defence” strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, destroying seven anti-ship cruise missiles, a mobile ballistic missile launcher and a drone.
The US Central Command has said that a missile aimed at the Red Sea has been intercepted and destroyed. A drone was also reported to have been shot down. It was determined that the targets posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region. The Israeli military announced that its Arrow missile defence system had successfully intercepted an air attack originating from the Red Sea, while sirens were heard in the port city of Eilat.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing drones and ballistic missiles towards Israel, including Eilat. However, the representative of the Israeli army did not disclose the identity of the attacker in a telegram post. Several attacks have been launched by the Houthis since November targeting ships with commercial ties to the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
According to Matthew Miller, the US Department of State spokesperson “The Houthis are behaving like a terrorist organisation that targets civilians, civilian shipping, and innocent mariners.” The group was still holding the Galaxy Leader’s crew of 25 people from five nations. The Houthis reportedly took control of the ship, which was partially owned by an Israeli businessman and sailed under the flag of the Bahamas.
The Houthis claim that the attack is in response to Israeli military operations in Gaza. They have promised to continue their campaign in solidarity with the Palestinians despite retaliatory attacks by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Miller responded by saying that, “Their attacks on shipping vessels are “endangering an already fragile humanitarian situation” and “do nothing to help the Palestinians. The Houthis’ attacks are driving up prices and causing delivery delays in critical humanitarian items, such as food and medicine in places where it’s needed most.”
The recent attacks have caused significant disruption to international commerce along a major shipping route that accounts for approximately 15 percent of the world’s shipping traffic. As a result, many shipping firms had to divert their vessels to the southern tip of Africa, which delayed delivery times and added 3,000–3,500 nautical miles (6,000 km) to their route.
“This is adversely affecting those in need of assistance around the world, including in Sudan, Ethiopia and in Yemen itself. Many of the ships that the Houthis have attacked contained food, such as grain and corn, headed for those countries,” Miller added.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam stated in an X post that, “What the world is impatiently waiting for is not the militarisation of the Red Sea, but rather an urgent and comprehensive declaration of a ceasefire in Gaza, for humanitarian reasons that are clear to anyone.”
CURIOUS | U.S., U.K. Launch New Joint Strikes on Houthi Targets in Yemen
