Hezbollah is targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon

A chemical tanker was slightly damaged in an attack in the southern Red Sea off Hodeidah, Yemen, on Thursday, in the twelfth month of escalation by the Iran-backed Houthi group against ships, it is alleged. that they supported the Palestinians in Gaza. .

Although the attack, which was not immediately claimed by the group, caused no casualties, two British maritime security agencies reported that the Liberian-flagged tanker continued on its way. to the next port of call.

The British Maritime Operations Authority explained that they had received a report of an incident off Yemeni Hodeidah in the southern part of the Red Sea, and that the captain of the tanker said that it had been hit by four projectiles, and that it had been damaged, but No fire or human casualties were found.

According to the British Authority, the crew members are fine, and the boat continues to sail to the next port of call.

British maritime security company Ambrey said the chemical tanker flying the Liberian flag was slightly damaged on the starboard side by an unidentified projectile in the Red Sea, 73 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah. the Yemeni, while on his way from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman.

She said that about four hours later, two additional projectiles exploded 0.27 nautical miles from the left side of the ship, according to what was reported by Reuters.

A year of attacks

In his latest sermon, last Sunday, the leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said that he had attacked 193 ships connected to Israel, America and Britain within a year and drones, as well as boats stuck booby.

As a result of the Houthi attack on February 18, the British ship “Rubimar” sank in the Red Sea, before the Greek ship “Tutor”, which the group targeted, sank on June 12.

Also, a missile attack on March 6 killed 3 sailors and injured 4 others, after targeting the Liberian ship “True Confidence” in the Gulf of Aden.

F-18 fighter aboard US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (US Army)

In addition to the injuries suffered by several ships, the group is still holding the ship “Galaxy Leader,” which it pirated on November 19, and took with its crew to the port of Saleef, north of Hodeidah, and it turned into a shrine for his followers.

The group’s chief claimed responsibility for the downing of 11 American MQ9 drones within a year, and promised that his group’s “military front will continue to develop capabilities,” and said he was looking for “something bigger.” .

The Houthi leader admitted that he received “774 air and sea strikes during the defense operation led by Washington to protect ships, admitting that 82 were killed and 340 wounded.”

The United States has launched strikes since January 12, against the Houthi group, and Britain has participated in them at least 4 times. In response to attacks against ships in the Red and Arabian seas.

The Houthi group found in Israel’s war on Gaza an opportunity to overcome the peace entitlements with the Yemeni government. At the end of last year, the two parties agreed to a peace map negotiated by Saudi Arabia and Oman, before the group engaged in anti-shipping attacks and announced that it was ‘ aligned with the Iranian axis.

The Yemeni government says that Western strikes against the Houthis are unnecessary, and that the most effective solution is to support the legitimate forces to restore Hodeidah and its ports, end the Houthi coup, and restoration of the kidnapped capital, Sanaa.

Smoke rises in Sanaa from Houthi stronghold after US strikes (AP)

The group has claimed responsibility for launching hundreds of missiles and drones towards Israel in recent months, but there have been no offensive results except for one drone that killed a person after it exploded. the flat in Tel Aviv on June 19.

These attacks prompted Israel to respond on July 20, targeting fuel installations in the port of Hodeidah, which resulted in the death of 6 people and the wounding of about 80 others.

Israeli strikes were repeated on September 29, on fuel stations in both Hodeidah and Ras Issa. As a result of these raids, 4 people were killed and about 30 people were injured, according to what the Houthis admitted.