Six people were killed and 10 wounded in a Houthi strike on a civilian vessel in the Red Sea, marking the group’s first lethal strike on shipping since the beginning of the war with Iran.
The Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month and have been routinely harassing shipping since. On Tuesday, the internationally recognized government of Yemen said that the Houthis targeted the commercial vessel Tihama, which was hit with three ballistic missiles while traversing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Four crew members were killed, three Pakistanis and one Indonesian, and two rescuers were killed in a follow-up strike while evacuating the crew, according to the Yemeni Coast Guard.
The Yemeni government claimed the vessel was carrying food supplies for the Yemeni people.
In a statement, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said, “Targeting a commercial ship loaded with food supplies destined to serve the needs of the Yemeni people, just two days after the attack on the port of Mocha and its civilian and economic facilities, provides new and unequivocal evidence of the party that is actually besieging the Yemenis, targeting their food, ports, ships and supply lines, and systematically working to disrupt commercial and economic activity and exacerbate human suffering.”
The Houthis said they attacked a Saudi ship carrying military equipment through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to the Houthi-run Saba News Agency.
The maritime risk management company Vanguard identified the vessel as flying a Tanzanian flag.
The deaths in the strike elevate the severity of the Houthis’ blockade and are likely to further restrict shipping through the strait. This could lead to a rise in energy and other costs, right as President Donald Trump was hoping for a respite.
The Houthis have justified their harassment of Bab el-Mandeb shipping as a tit-for-tat response to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of their territory. In a statement earlier on Tuesday, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said the group had adhered to the ceasefire negotiated four years ago but that Saudi Arabia had exploited the situation.
“Saudi Arabia exploited this ceasefire for calculated escalation on the economic and livelihood fronts, aiming to exhaust the Yemeni people,” he said. “It intensified its siege on the Yemeni people through the harassment faced by ships arriving at the port of Hodeidah in inspection procedures, delaying them for months, and targeting banks, exchange offices, and traders with decisions drafted on behalf of those holed up in their hotels. This has doubled the humanitarian crisis, increased costs, and come back negatively on the Yemeni citizen who finds himself facing exorbitant price hikes for goods.”
SAUDI ARABIA ANNOUNCES 14-NATION NAVAL COALITION TO KEEP BAB EL MANDEB STRAIT OPEN
The current crisis began last month when either Saudi or anti-Houthi Yemeni air forces bombed Sanaa Airport in an attempt to prevent the landing of a Houthi delegation that was returning from Iran after attending the funeral of former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The Houthis immediately blamed Saudi Arabia directly and retaliated with targeted strikes against the kingdom’s Abha International Airport, then energy infrastructure. Shortly thereafter, the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a 14-nation naval coalition to keep the strait open late last month, the most notable navies of which include Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt. The deadly Tuesday attack presents the group with an increasing danger to confront.