Yemen rebels attack “British ship” and two Israeli ships

Dubai. Yemen’s rebels said this Sunday that they attacked a “British ship” and two Israeli vessels, after the British maritime security agency reported three incidents off the coast of Yemen in less than 24 hours.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels began a bombing campaign with missiles and drones in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in November against ships they consider linked to Israel.

The Houthis – an insurgent movement, related to Iran, that controls large swaths of territory in Yemen – claim they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a bloody war against the Islamist movement Hamas, in retaliation. for the October 7 attack on Israeli soil.

They then expanded their targets and began attacking ships linked to the United States and the United Kingdom in January, after Washington launched a coalition to patrol the Red Sea route, a key area for global trade.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group launched five operations in the last 72 hours, including a missile bombardment against a British ship identified as “Hope Island” and an attack on two Israeli ships, the “MSC GRACE.” F” and the “MSC GINA”.

The Houthi announcement comes after the maritime security company Ambrey reported that a ship was attacked southwest of the Yemeni port of Mukalla, without specifying whether the ship was hit.

Earlier, the security firm said a projectile landed near a ship southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden.

The UK Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) said “the missile impacted the water very close” to the ship, but that no damage was reported and the crew are safe.

The attack occurred just hours after the US-led coalition patrolling the area reported that it intercepted a missile and detected another projectile that missed its course, according to UKMTO.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hosein Amir-Abdolahian, met this Sunday in Oman with Mohamed Abdelsalam, a senior Houthi leader, and praised the “brave support of the Yemeni nation to the oppressed Palestinian nation,” according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.