Escalating Tensions: Houthi Attacks On Warships And US Oil Tanker In The Red Sea

As the Yemeni rebel group increased its attacks on ships in the Red Sea in protest of Israel’s war on Gaza, officials announced that the United States and the United Kingdom had targeted more than a dozen Houthi locations in Yemen. The US and the UK claimed in a joint statement on Saturday that they had struck eight different Houthi positions in Yemen with their military action. These sites included air defense systems, radars, a helicopter, and subterranean weapons and missile storage facilities. This operation was the fourth combined strike against the Houthis by the US and UK armies. In addition to the coordinated effort, the US has been conducting nearly daily strikes to eliminate Houthi targets, such as inbound missiles, rockets, and drones aimed against commercial and other naval ships.

The Red Sea Strategic Importance

However, the Houthi attacks have not been stopped by the operations thus far, which has disrupted international trade and increased shipping costs. The goal of the most recent round of attacks, according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is “to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.” He said, “We will continue to make it clear to the Houthis that they will pay a price if they do not halt their illegal attacks, which damage the economies of the Middle East, harm the environment, and obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries.” Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand all backed the strikes. The Houthis answered in disobedience. The Houthis will “confront the American-British escalation with more qualitative military operations against all hostile targets in the Red and Arab Seas,” according to group spokesperson Yahya Saree.

New Houthi Attacks On Warships

He said that until the aggression ceases and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted, the Houthis would “persist in upholding their religious, moral, and humanitarian duties towards the Palestinian people, and their military operations will not stop.” Since November 19, the Houthis have attacked at least 57 military and commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to a count by The Associated Press news agency. Furthermore, in recent days, the rate of attacks has increased. A second Houthi representative declared that the organization used “a number of appropriate naval missiles” to assault the US-flagged, privately owned, and operated chemical and oil tanker, MV Torm Thor, on Saturday. The incident was verified by the US Central Command, which said that its forces shot down an anti ship ballistic missile that was headed into the Gulf of Aden from Houthi-held regions of Yemen. Torm Thor was most likely the missile’s intended target.

US Oil Tanker Incident

It said that there were no casualties and the tanker was undamaged. Another attack on an unidentified ship in the port of Djibouti was also reported by the British maritime security organization UKMTO on Saturday night. They stated that there had been a “explosion in close proximity to the vessel, no damage is reported to the vessel and there are no injuries to the crew.” It said in a message, “Vessel is proceeding to the next port of call.” Meanwhile, the Houthis said that they were the ones behind last week’s drone strike on a US destroyer and attack on a cargo ship owned by the United Kingdom. They also claimed that they had used ballistic missiles and drones to target Eilat, an Israeli port and tourist city. During the Houthi campaign, no ships have been sunk and no crew members have died. Concerns exist, meanwhile, over what will happen to the Rubymar cargo vessel, registered in the UK, whose crew managed to flee when it was damaged on February 18. According to the US military, when the Rubymar was struck, it contained about 41,000 tonnes of fertilizer, which might have spilled into the Red Sea and wreaked havoc on the ecology. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Other regions in the Middle East have also been affected by the unrest caused by Israel’s attack on Gaza. Hezbollah, an organization supported by Iran in Lebanon, has engaged in gunfire with Israel along the Israeli-Lebanese border, while Iraqi militias loyal to Iran have assaulted US military positions. In the Red Sea and adjacent seas, the rebels have frequently targeted ships. They assert that they are carrying out Israel’s assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but they have often attacked ships that have hazy or unclear ties to Israel, endangering cargo along a vital route for trade between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. At least one of the targeted vessels had goods bound for Iran, the primary sponsor of the Houthis.