Missile fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen misses a container ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

A missile fired from territory controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen has missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a US defense official says, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint.

The attack saw the missile splash harmlessly in the water near the Maersk Gibraltar, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship that had been traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the official says.

The official speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The official’s comments come after the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, put out an alert warning of an incident in the strait, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

Maersk, one of the world’s biggest shippers, does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Today’s attack marks the latest in the seaborne attacks attributed to the Houthis as part of their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip.