Houthis claim attack on French container ship in Red Sea

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they “targeted” the CMA CGM Tage container ship in the Red Sea, claiming it was bound for Israel.

Houthis military spokesman Yahya Saree makes the claim in a televised speech a day after the US Central Command said the group had fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the southern Red Sea.

Asked about the Houthis’ claim, the French shipping firm CMA CGM tells Reuters the vessel was unharmed and had suffered no incident. The company also says the ship had been headed for Egypt, not Israel.

Saree does not say when or where the incident took place. He says Houthis will continue their attacks until aid enters Gaza, and issues another warning to the United States.

“No US attack will pass without a response or punishment,” he says.

CENTCOM had said in its statement late Tuesday that there were no reports of any damage caused by the two missiles the Houthis had fired in the area.