A ship is attacked by a Houthi missile near the Yemeni coast

An American official told Al Jazeera that a ship flying the Norwegian flag was attacked by a missile launched by the Houthi group from Yemen. He added that the attack occurred near Bab al-Mandab and resulted in damage to the ship.

The official said in his statements to Al Jazeera that the US destroyer “Maison” responded to a distress call from the targeted ship, and confirmed that there was no American warship present during the missile attack by the Houthis.

In a related context, the British Maritime Trade Operations Department said that it had received a report of a fire on board a ship near the Bab al-Mandab Strait near the Yemeni coast, and advised ships to be careful.

British Maritime Trade Operations said, via the X platform, that the ship is 15 nautical miles from the port of Mokha in Yemen, and that the authorities have begun an investigation into the incident.

It also stated that an entity identifying itself as one of the Yemeni maritime authorities ordered a ship to change its course to a Yemeni port.

On Sunday, a French frigate shot down two drones in the Red Sea that were heading towards it from the coast of Yemen.

Washington previously announced that a US destroyer shot down 3 drones while last Sunday providing support to commercial ships in the Red Sea that were targeted by attacks from Yemen, denouncing a “direct threat” to maritime security.

The Houthi threat

The military spokesman for the Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis), Yahya Saree, threatened last Saturday to prevent the crossing of ships heading to Israel if food and medicine did not enter the Gaza Strip, and said that any ship heading to Israel is a legitimate target.

This decision was welcomed by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and Hamas said that it considers “this decision to be brave and bold, which wins for the blood of our people in the Gaza Strip, and stands against the Zionist-American aggression that is continuing a war of genocide.”

Days after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7 and the violent Israeli reaction, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi warned that his fighters would retaliate if “red lines” were crossed and if the United States intervened in Gaza. Through “missile strikes, marches, and military options,” he said, “We are ready to intervene with everything we can.”

Recently, the Houthis targeted ships they say are linked to Israel, but their threat last Saturday expanded the scope of their operations to include all ships heading to Israel.

The Houthis launched their first attacks on October 19, targeting Israel with cruise missiles. Then they hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea and detained 25 of its members. They also attacked 3 commercial ships in the Red Sea. The French and Americans intercepted some Houthi missiles directed at Israel.