A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. This marks the Houthis' first maritime strike since Israel's retaliation against the Port of Hodeidah, which followed a UAV attack on Tel Aviv by the rebels.
The Houthis did not address the two-week hiatus in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor. The resumption of their strikes comes in the wake of the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
In a separate development, the Houthis claimed responsibility for shooting down a US spy drone on Sunday, releasing images of the wreckage on a mountainside.
The attack on Saturday occurred approximately 225 kilometers southeast of Aden, targeting the container ship Groton just above its waterline. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), overseen by the US Navy, reported minor damage from the missile strike and noted that an earlier missile attack missed the vessel.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, confirmed the attack in a prerecorded statement. Since the Gaza war’s onset, the Iranian-backed Houthis have intensified their attacks, targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and launching drones toward southern Israel.
In response to the surge in Houthi attacks, the US has formed a coalition of over 20 countries to protect commercial traffic in the Red Sea from further assaults.
* Arutz 7 contributed to this article.
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