US shoots down drones, missiles fired by Houthi rebels over Red Sea

The US military reportedly shot down over a dozen drones and several missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthi rebels at ships in the Red Sea. “There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” the Pentagon’s Central Command said in a statement on social media. The Pentagon claimed that over a period of 10 hours, the Yemen-based Houthi rebels fired a barrage of 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles at ships passing through the Red Sea. In support of Gaza, the Houthi rebels had already taken credit for a drone attack on Israel and a missile strike on a ship in the Red Sea. The rebels claimed to have launched several “drones against military targets” in southern Israel and to have “carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship,” which they named as MSC UNITED, in a statement. Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7, the rebels have launched many drone and missile strikes. These attacks are the most recent in a string of them. In an effort to put an end to Israel’s offensive against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis claim to be targeting Israel and vessels with ties to Israel. A transiting vessel and her crew were reported to be safe earlier on Tuesday by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which also reported that “explosions (were) heard, missiles were sighted” close to the port of Hodeida on Yemen’s west coast. Later on, the ship carried on with its journey, according to UKMTO, with no reports of significant damage or crew injuries. It came after two previous explosions that happened near a vessel off Hodeida earlier on Tuesday, as reported by the British maritime authority. Tuesday saw explosions off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as well, according to state-affiliated media in Egypt. The Israeli army subsequently claimed to have intercepted aerial objects in the Red Sea. “An air force fighter jet successfully intercepted earlier today in the Red Sea area a hostile aerial target that was on its way to Israeli territory,” the Israeli army said. The explosions, according to the state-affiliated news channel Al-Qahera News, happened roughly two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the Egyptian coastal town of Dahab. Approximately 125 kilometres (75 miles) south of Eilat on Israel’s southern point is Dahab, which is the rebels’ nearest objective in Yemen. There have been no recorded casualties. The Houthis have attacked 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries with more than 100 drone and missile launches, according to the Pentagon. The United States has established a multinational naval task force to safeguard Red Sea commerce in response to the attacks, which are putting a transit route that handles up to 12 percent of world trade in jeopardy. Israel has also been the subject of numerous strikes by the Houthis, most of which have fallen short of their intended targets. (With agency inputs)