A ship in the Red Sea was targeted in a suspected attack by rebel Yemen based Houthis. The attack comes as the Israeli Army on Tuesday morning began a “targeted and limited” incursion into Lebanon days after Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The United Kingdom’s maritime security agency said on Tuesday that it received a report of an incident 64 nautical miles northwest of the port of Al Hudayah in Yemen.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that authorities are investigating the incident and in an advisory stated that vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.
The maritime agency said the captain of the ship reported four splashes sighted in close proximity to the vessel and that all crew are safe and the vessel is proceeding to the next port of call.
Iran-backed and Yemen-based Houthi terrorists have attacked and hijacked ships in the region for months, affecting global trade and maritime operations.
Earlier in August, the UKMTO had issued a second incident alert following a missile attack on a vessel off the coast of Yemen. The vessel was earlier targeted by attackers in two fast boats who fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at the ship.
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Attacks On Israeli cities
On September 27, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they attacked the Israeli cities of Tel Aviva and Ashkelon as well as three US Navy warships with missiles and drones, as per a report in the Al Jazeera.
The Houthis have repeatedly fired at Israel and have carried out several attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since November in what they describe as a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza, the news outlet reported. Meanwhile, Israel’s military late on September 30 launched limited raids into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah forces positioned along Israel’s northern border, the Times of Israel reported.
The news daily cited the IDF as saying that on Tuesday morning a “targeted and limited” incursion had begun several hours earlier, focused on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in a number of Lebanese villages along the border that posed an immediate threat to Israeli towns on the other side of the Blue Line.
Israel’s Counter-Attack
Israel has expanded its attacks on Iran-backed militant groups across the region after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently.
Also, there has been heightened alert in the West Asia region following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran while he was on an official visit to Iran and the killing of Hezbollah’s top military leader Faud Shukr in an airstrike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on July 30.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Israel launched a counter-offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attack.
According to the US Maritime Administration, Houthis have launched over 50 attacks on shipping, resulting in casualties, vessel seizures, and disruptions to global trade routes. The campaign has forced shipping firms to seek alternative routes, impacting approximately 12 percent of global trade that traverses the Red Sea.
(Inputs from ANI)
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