Houthi rebels claim responsibility for attacks on US and Israeli ships

Yemen's Houthi group has claimed responsibility for launching three attacks, targeting two US ships in the Gulf of Aden and an Israeli ship in the Indian Ocean.

"In support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and in response to the American-British aggression against our country (Yemen), our naval forces carried out a military operation targeting the American ship (MAERSK YORKTOWN) in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on Wednesday, 24 April.

"We also carried out other two military operations using bomb-laden drones, one of which targeted an American warship in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of drones, and the other operation targeted the Israeli ship (MSC VERACRUZ) in the Indian Ocean with a number of drones. Both operations achieved their goals successfully," he said without specifying the date of those attacks.

"We confirm that we will continue to prevent Israeli ships or any ship heading to Israel from transiting the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean until the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza is stopped and the siege is lifted," Sarea said, vowing that his group would take more actions in the coming days.

Earlier in the day, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported an explosion near a ship in the Gulf of Aden, which it said caused no damage or casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Houthi group has been controlling much of northern Yemen since the Yemeni civil war erupted in late 2014.

After the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on 7 October, 2023, the Houthi group declared its support for Hamas and began attacking ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea in November.

In response to the Houthi attacks, the US and UK launched a joint military operation in January, conducting air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Following the military action by Washington and London, the Houthi group vowed retaliation and expanded its targeting to include US and British ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.