Houthis attack two ships in the Red Sea and another in the Mediterranean

16 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Yemen’s Houthi rebels confirmed on Monday night attacks against two ships sailing in the Red Sea and another against a ship in the Mediterranean Sea, with no confirmed casualties so far, in a series of operations they have carried out in response to the Israeli bombing of the displaced persons camp in Al Mawasi that has left 90 dead.

The first of the ships attacked was the Israeli-owned but Panamanian-flagged Bentley I, which was targeted by ballistic missiles and surface drones, Houthi military operations spokesman Yahya Sari said on his Telegram channel.

The US Central Command has confirmed the action against the ship, operated by Monaco and transporting fuel from Russia to China.

The second operation was carried out against the oil tanker ‘Chios Lion’ – Liberian-flagged, owned by the Marshall Islands and operated by Greece – which was damaged by the explosion of a surface drone, although the ship has not requested assistance.

The Houthi spokesman has also confirmed a third joint operation with the pro-Iranian militia Islamic Resistance of Iraq against the ship ‘Olvia’ in the Mediterranean Sea, although CENTCOM has not commented on the latter.

The US military has destroyed at least five Houthi drones in the past 24 hours, including three flying over the Red Sea and two in rebel-held Yemeni territory.

The Houthis, who control the most populated areas of Yemen, have launched attacks against Israeli territory and against ships that they accuse of having some kind of connection with the country following the offensive unleashed against Gaza after the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

They have also attacked US and British ships and other strategic assets in response to the bombings of Yemen by these countries, an intervention that Washington and London have based on their desire to guarantee the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.