Yemen’s Houthis have reportedly targeted two more U.S.-owned cargo ships in the Red Sea, confirming direct and precise hits to the vessels.
“U.S. Central Command said the Houthis fired two missiles at the Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned grain carrier, causing minor damage. The command said the ship could continue to its destination of Aden, Yemen.
The Houthis also fired a drone at the Navis Fortuna, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier. The attack also caused minor damage, and the command said the vessel was able to continue its voyage to Italy.
CENTCOM also claimed that it struck a surface-to-air missile launcher in Yemen and a drone that was preparing to launch. The U.S. has been bombing Yemen almost every day, but the strikes have done nothing to deter the Houthis.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Yemeni forces launched drones at U.S. warships, likely referring to the incident reported by CENTOM. Sarea said the operations come ‘in support of the Palestinian people, who are still facing the Israeli aggression and siege, and in response to the U.S. and British aggression on our country’.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have made clear they will only stop their attacks on shipping once the Israeli onslaught in Gaza comes to an end. The U.S. bombing campaign has only escalated the situation as the Houthis were not targeting American or British shipping before the U.S. and UK launched the first round of strikes on Yemen on January 12th.
A ceasefire between the Saudis and Houthis has held relatively well since April of 2022, but new sanctions are now blocking the implementation of a peace deal”.
The Yemeni Houthis also reportedly fired naval missiles at a Belize-flagged, British-registered vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the Rubymar, marking the third UK ship that has been struck in the past four days.
In response, rather than pressuring Israel to agree to a ceasefire and negotiate an end to the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the U.S.-British maritime coalition has launched several airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah as well as deployed additional warships to the Red Sea.