The first successful Houthi target hits a ship in the Red Sea
An Iranian-backed Yemeni militia bombed a merchant ship with a missile in the Red Sea on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, raising fears that the war in Gaza could escalate into a wider regional conflict.
The US military said that strinda, a Norwegian tanker, caught fire after it was hit by a cruise missile fired from a part of Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia. While no one was reported injured, it appears to be one of the first successful strikes on a ship after weeks of threats by the Houthis, who have promised to strike ships and close the waterway in protest at the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
The Houthis, who have launched numerous drone and missile attacks on Israeli and US targets in recent weeks, said early on Tuesday that they hit strinda because it was carrying oil to Israel. But the shipping company that owns the ship said it was carrying biofuel feedstock and was heading to Italy. While the Houthis have said they intend to prevent Israeli ships from sailing in the Red Sea, some of their previous goals had no apparent connection to Israel.
The attack underscored fears that the war in Gaza, now in its third month, could attract other militant groups, such as Hamas, which are Israel's adversaries and are backed by Iran. In recent days, Israeli leaders have hinted at an escalation of the conflict with the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, warning on Monday that the group's intensified cross-border strikes "require Israel to remove such a threat".
So far, most of the missiles and drones launched by the Houthis have been intercepted by US naval forces stationed in the region or have been derailed.
On Monday evening, strinda came under fire in a "complex air attack from Yemen," according to a statement from the French Defense Ministry, which said that the Languedoc frigate, which was patrolling the area, intercepted a drone that directly threatened the Norwegian ship.
The French vessel then approached to prevent an "attempted hijacking,"the statement said. The US military said that Mason responded to strinda's call in May and was at the scene of the attack to provide assistance.
The French ship arrived in the southern Red Sea last week to help patrol a vital waterway for global shipping, with more than 20,000 merchant ships passing through the sea every year. Experts say the unrest in the Bab - el - Mandeb strait-which links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and is flanked by Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea-poses a threat to global shipping and supply chains.
Duncan Potts, a retired vice admiral in the British Royal Navy, said in a statement: "These attacks have the potential to become a much more global strategic economic threat than a regional geopolitical one.
