AP reports that in Jerusalem, Officials say that Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a cruise missile at an American warship in the Red Sea, but it was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet. This was the latest attack on ships around the world that happened while Israel was at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
After weeks of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the United States and its allies started attacking the Houthis on Friday. Sunday’s attack was the first fire that the US knows about from them.
Because of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis have been attacking a key route that carries goods and energy from Asia to the Middle East and then to Europe through the Suez Canal. These attacks could make the conflict between Israel and Hamas even worse and start a regional war.
The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group backed by Iran that took over the capital of Yemen in 2014, did not instantly say they were aware of the attack.
Soon after the latest attack, it wasn’t clear if the U.S. would respond. However, President Joe Biden has said that he “will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer called the USS Laboon was hit by Houthi fire on Sunday. The US military’s Central Command said in a statement that the destroyer is working in the southern part of the Red Sea.
The hit came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city that the Houthis have had for a long time, the US said.
Central Command said that an anti-ship cruise missile was fired at the USS Laboon from Houthi rebel areas of Yemen that are backed by Iran. “There were no reports of injuries or damage.”
Friday was the first day of U.S.-led strikes. Fighter jets, warships, and a submarine dropped bombs and cruise missiles on more than 60 targets in 28 places. The U.S. says that weapon depots, radars, and communication centres were hit, some of which were in remote mountain areas.
It’s still not clear to the Houthis how bad the damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and hurt six more.
Saturday, U.S. forces hit a Houthi radio site as a follow-up.
Attacks have made it take longer for ships to go through the Red Sea. Friday, the U.S. Navy told ships flying the American flag to stay away from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden around Yemen for 72 hours after the first attacks.
On the other hand, the Houthis said, without any proof, that the U.S. hit a spot near Hodeida on Sunday around the same time as the cruise missile fire. Americans and Britons said they didn’t launch any attacks, which suggests the explosion might have been caused by a Houthi missile that went off by accident.
Since November, the rebels have attacked ships in the Red Sea many times, saying they were getting back at Israel for attacking Hamas in Gaza. But they have often gone after ships with weak or no clear ties to Israel, putting at risk shipping on a key route for global trade.
In a speech on Sunday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist Lebanese group Hezbollah, indirectly mentioned the growing number of Houthi attacks on ships. He said that “the sea has become battlefield of missiles, drones, and warships” and blamed the U.S. strikes for making things worse at sea.
Nasrallah said, “What the Americans did in the Red Sea is the most dangerous thing. It will hurt the safety of all maritime navigation.”
While the Biden administration and its partners have been working for weeks to ease tensions in the Middle East and stop a bigger war, the strikes in the Red Sea could start one.
Saudi Arabia tried to keep its distance from the attacks on Houthi sites because it supports the government-in-exile of Yemen that the Houthis are fighting. Saudi Arabia is trying to keep a delicate peace with Iran and the cease-fire it has in Yemen. The war in Yemen, which started in 2015 and is led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the U.S., has killed more than 150,000 people, both fighters and citizens. It has also caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, killing tens of thousands more.
As has been the case since the Houthi strikes started, the U.S. military did not say for sure that the fire was aimed at the Laboon. But U.S. sailors have been given combat ribbons for their deeds in the Red Sea. These are only given to people who are actively fighting an enemy force.
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