DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A rocket attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck a Liberian-flagged container ship takingatrip through the Gulf of Aden, authorities stated Sunday, the veryfirst attack by the group because Israeli airstrikes targeted them.
The Houthis provided no description for the two-week timeout in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea passage, which haveactually seen comparable downturns consideringthat the attacks started in November over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis’ primary benefactor, amidst restored issues over the war breaking out into a local dispute.
The rebels independently stated they shot down another U.S. spy drone Sunday, lateron publishing images of the airplane’s wreckage on the side of the mountain.
The attack on Saturday occurred some 225 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that hasactually seen various Houthi attacks formerly. It hit the container ship Groton simply above its waterline, triggering small damage, stated the Joint Maritime Information Center, a international union supervised by the U.S. Navy. An earlier rocket attack missedouton the vessel, the JMIC stated.
“All team on board are safe,” the center stated. “The vessel was reported diverting to a port closeby.”
The Groton had left Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Groton’s Greek supervisors did not respond to a demand for remark.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, declared the attack in a prerecorded declaration Sunday afternoon.
The rebels haveactually targeted more than 70 vessels with rockets and drones in a project that hasactually eliminated 4 sailors. They have took one vessel and sunk 2 in the time consideringthat. Other rockets and drones haveactually been either obstructed by a U.S.-led union in the Red Sea or sprinkled down before reaching their targets.
The Houthis keep that their attacks target ships connected to Israel, the United States or Britain as part of the rebels’ project they state looksfor to force an end to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. However, numerous of the ships assaulted have little or no connection to the war