In a new development linked to the attacks of the Iranian -backed Houthi group on shipping ships, the group acknowledged the detention of 11 members of the crew of the Ithrti C, which was dumping on July 8th, at the Red Sea show, confirming that it will continue to target every ship linked to any form of Israeli ports.
This announcement came in conjunction with the group’s renewal of what it called “the fourth stage of the maritime blockade of the Zionist entity”, through a warning statement of dealing with Israel, whether at the level of shipping, operation or supply, stressing that “navigation is safe for everyone except for Israeli ships or related to its ports.”
The group’s military media distributed scenes from the retail operation carried out by its elements to the crew of the two -day vehicle, which lasted, and ended with the rescue of 11 crew members, including two wounded, who were found in the sea, in addition to recovering one body that was on board the ship before its sinking.
The registrations broadcast by the group’s media claimed that the ship was actually heading to the Israeli port of Eilat, which the group saw as evidence of “a violation of the decision to ban navigation towards Israel.”
The European Union’s mission to secure navigation in the Red Sea (Asbids) reported earlier that the number of the ship’s crew is 25, and that 10 of them were rescued, confirming the killing of 4 others and the loss of 12 others.
At the time, the Houthis distributed a propaganda video showing the targeting and dumping scenes of the “Etternte C” ship, which raises the flag of Liberia, the second commercial ship drowned by the group between 6 and 8 July.
The mission of “Asbids” explained that among the dead, the chief engineer, one of the workers in the engines room, and a trainee. She pointed out that there are “at least two injuries between them for an electrician of Russian nationality, who had stated.”
An ongoing escalation
The Houthis launched more than 150 attacks against ships since November 2023, which led to the sinking of four ships, the last of which was this month, and also caused many other ships damage, as well as the piracy of the “Galaxy Lider” ship, and the attacks also killed at least 10 sailors.
These attacks included cargo tankers, container ships, and loose shipping ships, in the Red Sea, and even the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, which caused the transfer of international trade path and raised the cost of sea shipping through the Suez Canal.
In his recent statement, the military spokesman for the Houthis threatened that the ships associated with Israeli ports will be “direct targets”, regardless of their nationality, the royal company, or the operator, unless those ships stop commercial or logistical dealing with Israel.
The group also claimed that the “Etrenti C” was targeted after it ignored repeated warnings sent “via International Channel 16”.
During the reign of President Joe Biden, the United States established an alliance called “Al -Azhar Guard” to protect navigation, and launched hundreds of strikes against the Houthi group before Trump resumed it last March for about eight weeks.
The Sultanate of Oman mediated in an agreement that began in force on May 6, in which the Houthi group pledged to stop attacking the American ships in the Red Sea in exchange for stopping the vast military campaign launched by Trump, but the agreement did not include Israel.
With the inability of these measures to stop the Houthi naval attacks, the European Union launched the mission of the “Asbids” in the Red Sea early last year, to protect ships, without entering into a direct confrontation with the group as Washington and Britain did.
A comprehensive military operation
The Yemeni government confirms that the Houthi escalation in the Red Sea can only be stopped by a comprehensive military operation targeting the group’s military structure, and re -controlling the West Coast, and the three Hodeidah ports that are used, according to the government, in “hostile actions against international navigation.”
The Yemeni government says that the Houthi threats are not only endangering Yemen’s political and economic interests, but rather a direct threat to the safety of global navigation and regional security, and calls for urgent international moves to strip the group from the tools of maritime terrorism.
It is noteworthy that the previous Israeli retaliatory strikes against the group caused the destruction of the three ports of Hodeidah, and included this sidewalks, cranes, fuel stores, and clouds, as well as the destruction of Sanaa airport and four civilian aircraft, cement manufacturers, and power stations, where the group estimated its losses at about two billion dollars.
The Houthi group launched about 50 ballistic missiles, and an unspecified number of misfortunes since mid -March towards Israel, which, despite its superiority, in dealing with the group, due to the lack of accurate intelligence information around the leadership sites, or missile launch platforms, which drives it to repeat the bombing of infrastructure in Hodeidah and Sana’a, without the actual ability to neutralize the Houthi danger.
