In the context of the war between Hamas and Israel, tension continues to rise in the Red Sea. The American army announced that it had intercepted numerous drones and missiles in the area fired by the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group supported by Iran.
The United States patrols this strategic region of the globe alongside an international coalition to protect maritime traffic from attacks by the Houthis, who say they are in solidarity with Palestinian Hamas. On Tuesday, the US armed forces “downed 12 attack drones, 3 anti-ship ballistic missiles and 2 cruise missiles in the southern Red Sea, fired by the Houthis” in a period of “approximately 10 hours”, said the US military Middle East Command (Centcom).
Houthis claim attacks
Some interceptions were carried out by combat aircraft operating from the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier present on site, Centcom said. “There was no damage to the boats present in the area and no injuries were reported,” he announced in a press release published on X.
Earlier in the day, the Houthi rebels assured in a statement that they had “carried out a targeted operation against a commercial vessel” identified as the MSC UNITED, and had launched “drones against military targets” in southern Israel. The Israeli army said it had intercepted “a hostile aerial target” heading towards its territory.
Iran singled out
Since the start of the war on October 7 between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Houthis have increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships off the coast of Yemen with alleged links to Israel, in solidarity with Gaza. According to the Pentagon, the Houthis, who control entire swaths of Yemeni territory, including the capital Sanaa, have already launched around a hundred drone and missile attacks, targeting a total of 10 merchant ships involving more than 35 countries.
Iran is “very involved in the planning” of attacks carried out by the Houthis in the Red Sea, the White House said on Friday. These attacks, which threaten to disrupt the flow of global maritime trade on a strategic route, have pushed the United States to set up a multinational maritime protection force in the Red Sea.