The Department of Defense of the United States of America (Pentagon) has confirmed that they have been informed of attacks on an American warship and merchant ships in the Red Sea.
As they announced, they are aware of the reports of attacks on the USS Carney and merchant ships in the Red Sea, and will comment as soon as they have more information. The Yemeni Houthi movement announced that they attacked two Israeli ships – Unity Explorer and Number 9. They pointed out that they carried out the attack after the crew of the ships ignored their warnings.
They said that the attacks were a response to the demand of Yemeni and other Muslim nations to support the Palestinians.
This is the continuation of a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters, which began after the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. The offensive was a reaction to the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Houthis are allies of Iran and control most of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Last month, they seized a cargo ship connected to Israel and warned that they would continue to carry out attacks on Israeli vessels, Reuters reports.
The group said the ships were Israeli, although according to Maritime Traffic, Unity Explorer is flagged in a Bahamas and Number 9 is flagged in Panama. Both are recorded as being in the Red Sea area or having been there recently.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the ships had “no connection to the state of Israel”.
He said: “One ship was significantly damaged and it is in distress and apparently is in danger of sinking and another ship was lightly damaged.”
Yemen’s Houthis, who have the backing of Iran, have launched several missile and drone attacks on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on 7 October. They are not thought to have inflicted any serious damage, The Guardian reports.
