Houthis hit US merchant ship in Red Sea with missile

The United States maintains that it does not want a war with the Houthis in Yemen, but it is increasingly immersed in one of the hottest spots in the crisis in the Middle East. This Shiite rebel group has announced that from now on it will consider American and British commercial ships in the Red Sea as legitimate targets, just hours after one of its missiles hit an American merchant ship southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden. On Friday, US and UK forces had attacked targets of these groups in Yemen; In a speech in the British Parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has separated the instability in those waters from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The merchant ship, the Gibraltar Eagle, sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands, although it is owned by the American company Eagle Bulk, and was transporting a cargo of steel. A statement from the US Central Command on social networks has assured that the missile has not caused serious damage or injuries. The company that owns the attacked ship has stated that part of the cargo was hit, but the damage has been limited: “As a result of the impact, the ship suffered damage to its cargo area, but it is stable and heading out of the area.” . Two hours earlier, Washington forces had detected another missile fired at commercial shipping lines in the southern Red Sea, but that projectile missed and ended up crashing into Yemeni land, according to Central Command.

The latest Houthi attacks represent a challenge to diplomatic and military pressure from the United States and its allies for the militias to cease their harassment of merchant ships entering the Red Sea, a trade route through which 15% of world trade flows. . On Sunday, according to Central Command, a US fighter shot down a missile fired at the warship Laboon, which was also sailing those waters, without any damage or injuries being reported.

Last Friday, the United States and the United Kingdom struck at least 60 Houthi targets in 28 locations in Yemen to neutralize their ability to attack merchant ships. Then, they destroyed anti-aircraft surveillance systems, radars, and cruise and ballistic missiles, according to the Pentagon. A day later, US forces attacked a radar system. The objective was, Washington and London have maintained, purely defensive, to protect commercial maritime traffic. But they also warned that if the Houthis' harassment continued, they would repeat the reprisals. The Pentagon recognizes that the rebels retain 75% of their attack capacity and that hostile acts will continue.

The Yemeni militia maintains that it attacks Israeli ships or ships bound for Israel, to get that country to end its offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians; 1% of the entire population of the Strip. The United States assures that the Houthi claims are not true and that the group indiscriminately attacks ships in the area. Several shipping companies have diverted their ships to go around Africa and avoid the Red Sea, opting for a longer and more expensive route, although considered safer.

This Monday, the Huthi militia announced that it will also include American and British ships in its objectives. “It is not necessary for the ship to go to Israel, it is enough for it to be American,” declared the group's spokesperson, Nasruldeen Amer, in an interview with the Qatari television network Al Jazeera.

For his part, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom appeared before the House of Commons this Monday to give details about the joint operation against the Houthis deployed on Friday. Rishi Sunak was not required to inform Parliament before making the decision, nor does he have to submit it to MPs for approval. However, previous experiences such as the Iraq war in 2003 or the bombings against Syria in 2013, which caused strong rejection in the Labor and Conservative ranks, advised Sunak to seek the greatest consensus and complicity of the opposition and to appear as soon as possible before the Camera.

“I do not decide to use force lightly. The action was carried out in self-defense. It was limited, without seeking an escalation. “It was a necessary and proportional response to a direct threat against British vessels and, therefore, against the United Kingdom,” said Sunak, who has warned that his Government is willing to respond to future attacks. “Of course, we will not hesitate to protect the safety of our citizens and our own interests,” he said.

The prime minister wanted to resolve any link between the instability in the Red Sea and Yemen and the war unleashed between Israel and Hamas. “We cannot fall into that evil narrative that seeks to link this with what happened in Israel and Gaza. They are dedicated to attacking ships from all over the world. [El Gobierno del Reino Unido] Continue working to achieve a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and send more aid to civilians. We continue to support achieving a negotiated settlement in Yemen's civil war. “None of what happened, which was a direct response to the Houthi attacks on international shipping, has anything to do with any of that,” Sunak said. The Labor opposition, led by Keir Starmer, has given its support to the Government, but has in turn demanded that future attacks against the Houthis be consulted in advance in Parliament.

The hostile acts of the Houthis and the response of the United States and the United Kingdom have raised fears that the war in Gaza could spread to the Middle East. The United States insists it does not want to be drawn into further involvement in conflicts in the region. Iran, the main supporter of the Houthis, as well as other radical Islamic groups in countries in the area, has also shown no signs of wanting to enter into a direct confrontation.

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