Houthis to step up Red Sea strikes, use 'submarine weapons', leader says

DUBAI/ADEN/LONDON: Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.

The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group’s leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters – including with new “submarine weapons” – to mirror Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November in support of Palestinians, as the Israel-Hamas war continues and the Gaza death toll reaches almost 30,000.

“Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi added in a televised speech. He gave no details of the submarine weapons.

The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal trade shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, and forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

The Houthis on Thursday sent shippers and insurers formal notice of what they termed a ban on vessels linked to Israel, the US and Britain from sailing in surrounding seas, seeking to reinforce their military campaign.

The Houthis’ communication, the first to the shipping industry outlining a ban, came in the form of two notices from the Houthis’ newly dubbed Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center sent to shipping insurers and firms.

The aim is to force sailing companies to collaborate with the Houthis to guarantee the safety of their ships. Ships owned by individuals or entities in Israel, the US and UK or sailing under their flags are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, Thursday’s notices said.

“The Humanitarian Operations Center was established in Sanaa to coordinate the safe and peaceful passage of ships and vessels that have no connection to Israel,” a senior Houthi official told Reuters on Thursday.