A ship in the Red Sea was the target of a third attack believed to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Tuesday as part of an offensive campaign over the war between Israel and Hamas, officials said.
The attack comes as Iran, the rebels’ main sponsor, is considering possible retaliation against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July, rekindling fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East.
Houthi attacks have already cut off $1 trillion a year in supplies flowing through a sea route vital to trade between Asia, Europe and the Middle East and sparked the U.S. Navy’s fiercest fighting since World War II.
The ship was first attacked at sea about 70 miles south of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah, according to the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre. An explosive device detonated near the ship, then a small boat “acting suspiciously” approached the ship with flashing lights, followed by a second explosion, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said.
Private security company Ambry made a similar report, saying the ship witnessed “two explosions at close range.”
The third attack took place several hours later on Tuesday, about 110 miles northwest of Hodeidah, and also saw an explosion on board the ship, UKMTO said. Ambry said all three attacks targeted the same ship.
The Houthis have not claimed attacks, but sometimes wait days before claiming them and sometimes claim attacks that do not appear to have happened.
The Houthis have attacked more than 70 ships with missiles and drones since the Gaza war began in October, capturing one vessel and sinking two, killing four sailors. Other missiles and drones were either intercepted by the US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels claim they targeted ships linked to Israel, the US and Britain in an effort to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but many of the ships they attacked, including those bound for Iran, have little or no connection to the conflict.
The Houthis have also fired drones and missiles at Israel, including one attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah, hitting a fuel depot and power plant, killing and wounding scores, rebels said.
Following the attack, the Houthis suspended their attacks until August 3, when they attacked a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling in the Gulf of Aden. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker came under a series of violent attacks suspected to be carried out by rebels, beginning on August 8.
As Iran threatened to retaliate over the Haniya incident, the U.S. military ordered the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to make a rapid passage to the region. The U.S. also ordered the Georgia guided-missile submarine to the Middle East, while the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the Gulf of Oman. F-22 fighter jets have also flown to the region, and the large amphibious assault ship Wasp, equipped with F-35 fighter jets, is deployed to the Mediterranean.
