Yemeni rebels from the Shiite Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) may not allow ships in the Red and Arabian Seas that are in any way connected with Israel. This was announced on Saturday, December 9, by movement representative Yahya Saria.
“Any ships bound for the Zionist entity [Израиль]will be a legitimate target [хуситов]“, he wrote on the Telegram channel.
Saria also added that the ban on the passage of ships is due to Israel’s restrictions on the supply of food and medicine to the Gaza Strip.
Before this, on December 3, it became known that the Houthis carried out an operation against two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Ansar Allah said it would continue to harass Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas until Israel ceases operations in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the US Navy destroyer USS Carney was attacked by drones and missiles fired from Yemen. The ship responded to a distress signal from a merchant ship. The destroyer destroyed the drone and also detected at least one ballistic missile fired at the ship.
Also on December 3, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) said it had received reports of drone activity and a possible explosion in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Later, the Al Hadath TV channel, citing sources, reported that the Yemeni Houthis used drones to attack a British merchant ship in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the attack was repelled by US and Israeli warships.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, when the Palestinian Hamas movement subjected Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and also invaded border areas in the south of the country. That same day, Israel began retaliating against targets in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians are seeking to return the borders between the two countries to the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses these conditions.
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