UK and US repel biggest attack by Houthi rebels in Red Sea

The armies of the United Kingdom and the United States shot down eighteen drones and three missiles launched by the Houthis on Tuesday night in the Red Seain it “greatest attack” of the Yemeni rebels to date, according to the British government.

The Houthi rebels, who have the backing of Iran, claimed the attack as an action to support the Palestinians of Gaza, confronted by the offensive launched by Israel in retaliation for the bloody attack on October 7 by militiamen of Hamas, which governs the enclave.

“The operation, with a large number of ballistic and naval missiles, and drones, targeted an American ship that was supplying aid to the Zionist entity.“, the rebels announced in a statement.

According to the Houthi text, it is “a first response to the attack against our forces on December 31”.

American helicopters, responding to a distress call from a commercial ship, had sunk three Houthi rebel ships that day, killing ten of their crews.

Blinken in Israel

This new attack by the Houthis comes when the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is in Israel, as part of a tour of the region to try to prevent the war against Hamas from spreading.

“Overnight“, the British ship “HMS Diamond”, along with American warships, “They successfully repelled the largest attack carried out to date in the Red Sea by the Houthis, supported by Iran“, had announced the British Minister of Defense, Grant Shappson the social network X.

“The ‘Diamond’ thwarted several drone attacks that were heading in its direction and that of other merchant ships in the area“added the minister, specifying that there had been no injuries among the crew or damage to the British ship.

Shappsin subsequent statements to Sky News, warned, in a threatening tone, the Houthis that they must cease their actions, also accusing Iran of supporting these attacks.

“Stop. We must make it clear to the Houthis that they must stop and I am sending them a simple message: prepare”he declared Shapps to Sky News.

“There is no doubt that Iran is behind what is happening in the Red Sea”he added.

Before the British government, the US military’s Middle East Command (Centcom) had reported “a complex attack engineered by Iran in the southern Red Sea, using drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile”.

The drones and missiles were shot down by fighter jets deployed from the US aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, three US destroyers and a British warship, the HMS Diamond, Centcom said in a statement.

Tuesday night’s attack is the 26th against shipping traffic in the Red Sea since mid-January, according to Centcom.

multinational force

This incident occurred a week after twelve countries, led by the United States, warned the Houthis of the consequences of their attacks if they did not immediately stop shooting at commercial ships.

USA Last month, it created a multinational naval force to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, which endanger a maritime route through which up to 12% of world trade transits.

Israel swore “annihilate” to Hamas after its attack, of unprecedented magnitude, in which 1,140 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on the Israeli balance sheet.

Relentless Israeli bombing has left more than 23,210 dead in Gaza, mainly women, children and teenagers, according to the Hamas-ruled Health Ministry.