YEMEN’s Houthi rebels vowed to escalate attacks in the Red Sea targeting maritime vessels linked to Israel. The attacks seen as a show of support toward Palestinians in Gaza have affected the global maritime industry as the fighting entered its eighth month.
U.S. intelligence claimed the attacks impacted the interests of 65 countries as well as 29 major energy and shipping companies.
The group has used missile, drone and even unmanned surface vessels to attack commercial shipping passing through the strategic waterway which escalated since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, 2023.
Apart from Israel’s allies U.S. and Britain, nations with friendly ties to the Houthis such as Turkiye, Russia, China, and its purported benefactor Iran have been caught in the crossfire based on the U.S. intelligence report.
However, a senior Houthi official in January promised that the rebel group will not attack Russian, Chinese, and German ships passing through the Red Sea.
A U.S.-led military operation known as Prosperity Guardian was launched in December 2023 to counter Houthi attacks.
Among the most recent attacks launched by the Houthi was targeting the Liberian flagged, Greek-owned bulker Tutor which caused severe flooding and damage to the vessel’s engine room. It was Houthi’s first-ever successful attack with an unmanned sea drone.
The Red Sea is one of the world’s most strategic waterway linking Asia, Africa, and Europe. About 40 percent of trade between Asia and Europe and ten percent of worldwide trade passes through the critical maritime corridor.
The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are being watched closely not only by Iran and the UAE but also the international community affected by the reverberating tensions in the Middle East.
