Houthis vow to step up Red Sea attacks if Israel-Hamas war continues
Greek and British ships carrying goods damaged in Yemeni naval missile attacks in the Red Sea
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The leader of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday that the group will further escalate if the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza does not stop.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, drawing American and British retaliatory strikes since last month.
The attacks are disrupting maritime trade in one of the world’s busiest corridors as freight firms reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal.
In a televised speech, Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the group will “seek to escalate more and more if the barbaric and brutal aggression against Gaza does not stop, along with the siege of the Palestinian people from whom they deny aid and medicine.”
The group fired naval missiles at two ships in the Red Sea on Tuesday, its military spokesman said, causing damage to Greek-owned Star Nasia and British-owned Morning Tide.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree identified the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged Star Nasia as American. The vessel was carrying US coal to India, marine shipping trackers showed.
Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorist organization launched an unprecedented attack, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.
Throughout the ensuing war, the Houthis have launched missiles toward Israel as well as attacking ships in the Red Sea.
The Times of Israel Community.