The Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and Djibouti has been under Houthi rebels’ largest attack yet on commercial shipping. On Tuesday, 4 destroyers and F/A-18 warplanes from an aircraft carrier shot down 18 drones, two cruise missiles, and one ballistic missile spotted in the Red Sea, launched from Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen at 11:15 PM local time or 6:15 UTC.
A Houthi military spokesperson later confirmed this after stating an operation had been carried out with many missiles and drones. The operation “targeted a US ship that was providing support for the Zionist entity.” He stated that it had been in retaliation for the attack on three Houthi speedboats and the killing of their crew members by the US Navy after they attempted to sink a container ship on December 31. He also added that Houthi would continue these attacks on ships heading for Palestine or ships coming from Israel until the conflict ends.
Continuing these attacks will most likely impact global trade, as the Suez Canal, north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, is known for being the shortest trade route from Europe to Asia. The Red Sea alone accounts for over 15% of all seaborne trade globally. Supply routes will be extensively damaged if Houthi continues their assaults on Red Sea cargo.
There was a vote held today by the UN Security Council that proposed a resolution to the attacks by demanding the Houthis stop their assaults on Red Sea cargo ships. It ended with 11-0, with 4 members abstaining: Russia, China, Algeria, and Mozambique.
Mr. Grant Shapps, a member of the British Parliament, stated on Wednesday that the UK and its allies previously made clear that “these illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and if continued the Houthis will bear the consequences.” He later said that Iran was behind most of the conflicts in the region. However, Mr. Shapps is only one of the many politicians upset about these attacks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his dislike for the attacks. He stated that he had been warning the Houthis to cease aggression on ships for the past four days. They refused and revealed after this incident that they were specifically attacking US ships.
