DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday (Dec 26) claimed a missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack towards Israel in solidarity with Gaza.
In a statement, the rebels said they “carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship” they identified as MSC UNITED, and launched a number of “drones against military targets” in southern Israel.
The attacks are the latest in a flurry of drone and missile strikes launched by the rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct 7.
The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas militants.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said “explosions (were) heard, missiles were sighted” near the port of Hodeida on Yemen’s west coast, adding that a transitting vessel and its crew were safe.
The ship later continued its voyage, without reporting any major damage or crew injuries, UKMTO said.
It followed two other explosions earlier Tuesday that struck near a vessel also off Hodeida, according to the British maritime authority.
Explosions were also heard off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, Egyptian state-linked media said, with the Israeli army later saying it had intercepted aerial objects in the Red Sea.
“An air force fighter jet successfully intercepted earlier today in the Red Sea area a hostile aerial target that was on its way to Israeli territory,” the army said.
