Yemen rebels to attack ships in Mediterranean
The Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels and American and British naval ships in the Red Sea.
Daily TribuneThe Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels and American and British naval ships in the Red Sea.
Armed supporters of Yemen's Huthi rebels.
MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP
Houthi rebels on Friday said they will also attack Israel-bound ships in the Mediterranean Sea which is more than 2,000 kilometers away from their country of Yemen.
“The targeting of all ships that violate the ban (on) Israeli navigation and that head to the ports of occupied Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea in any reachable area within our ample zone” takes effect “immediately,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement.
The Iran-backed rebels had been firing missiles at Israeli-owned and Israeli-bound commercial vessels passing the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast and attacking such vessels with drones since November.
The targets include naval ships of the United States and United Kingdom protecting commercial ships in the Red Sea and attacking Houthi missile launch sites within Yemen.
The targetting of commercial vessels is in support for Hamas forces battling Israeli troops in Gaza after the Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel on 7 October and killed more than 1,000 mostly civilians and kidnapped more than 200 others.
The rebels said attacks will only stop if humanitarian aid is delivered to Gaza, where more than a million residents have been displaced by the war.
It is unclear if how the Houthis would attack ships in the Mediterranean.
The rebels’ ballistic missiles have a range of 1,600 to 1,900 kilometers, and their Iranian Shahed-136 drones can travel up to 2,000 kms, experts say.
The rebels previously threatened to extend their attacks to the Indian Ocean and to vessels taking the detour around southern Africa to avoid the Yemeni coast. But their main focus has remained the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
