A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday targeted a ship in the Red Sea, officials said, as the militants increase their missile fire targeting Israel.
The attack off the coast of Hodeida, Yemen, follows an Israeli strike last week that killed the militant group’s prime minister along with several officials.
The Houthis have been using cluster munitions in the missile attacks on Israel — which open up with smaller explosives that can be harder to intercept, raising the chances of strikes as Israel prepares for a new ground offensive in its war on Hamas.
Photo: EPA
In yesterday’s attack, an “unknown projectile” landed off the side of a vessel as electronic interference was particularly intense, the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations center said.
The ship and crew were safe after the apparent assault, it added.
Private maritime security firm Ambrey also acknowledged the apparent attack, as did the firm EOS Risk Group, which added that the Houthis have launched multiple missile attacks targeting Israel in the past few days as well.
“The current tempo reflects a clear escalation, shifting from sporadic launches to multiple daily attempts,” EOS Risk Group head of advisory Martin Kelly said.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) warned that any Israeli move to annex the occupied West Bank would be a “red line,” without specifying its possible impact on the landmark normalization accord between the two countries.
The warning came as Israel pressed ahead with the initial stages of its latest major offensive in Gaza City.
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals.
The UAE was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by US President Donald Trump, in which it and three other Arab countries forged ties with Israel.
Anwar Gargash, a senior UAE diplomat, wrote on X that “annexation is a red line.”
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