Yemen says hit two more ships in Red Sea

In a statement on the X social media platform on Monday, spokesman of Yemen’s armed forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree identified the two ships attacked in the Red Sea earlier in the day as Swan Atlantic and MSC Clara.

The statement said the Yemenis had used naval drones to hit the ships, adding that the attacks were “in solidarity with the Palestinian people in light of the aggression against Gaza.”

The attacks are the latest under Yemen’s campaign of pressuring the Israeli regime and the US and other allies to end a war on Gaza that has killed over 19,400 people since early October.

The campaign is part of larger regional anti-Israeli military drive that also involves resistance groups in Iraq and Lebanon.

Commander of Yemen’s Fifth Military Zone Major General Yusuf al-Madani stated earlier on Monday that the Arab country is ready for any reaction to its ant-Israeli attacks in the region.

Al-Madani added that Yemen’s armed forces could significantly increase their fire power to respond to any threat from “any party that seeks to drive a wedge between us and Palestine.”

He also warned that any move that intensifies tensions in Gaza would lead to an increase in tensions in the Red Sea.

The warnings came amid reports suggesting that the United States and allies may form a regional maritime task force to counter threats to shipping in the Red Sea.

It also came just hours before oil giant BP announced in a statement that it had decided to suspend oil transit activity via Red Sea routes because of threats emanating from the Yemeni forces.

On Monday, Evergreen joined five other big shipping firms who have already suspended operations: the Hong Kong-based OOCL, Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and the Italian-Swiss-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Later, Belgian oil tanker firm Euronav announced it would avoid the Red Sea area until further notice amid the recent attacks on vessels.

Major international shipping companies have changed the course of their vessels in the region after the Yemenis said earlier this month that any ship bound for the Israeli-occupied Palestine will be a legitimate target until the Israeli regime completely halts its aggression against Gaza.

A spokesman for the Houthis has also tried to reassure global markets that vessels not linked to Israel are safe transiting the Red Sea, after the groups attacks led to a flurry of international firms not linked to Israel avoiding the route.

“We reiterate that the shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea are safe and there is no danger to the ships of any country except for ships belonging to the enemy entity or those heading to its ports,” Abdul Salam Salah wrote in a social media post.

The spokesman’s comments, which slammed “biased and unrealistic American propaganda” for striking fear in the global shipping industry, are unlikely to reassure industry executives, who are sending their vessels around Africa instead of the Red Sea.