The Houthis fired at ships and vessels and retaliated
The armed forces of the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) in Yemen, in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, launched a hunt against merchant ships bound for Israel. If the ships do not change course, they can be hijacked, like Galaxy Leader (an Israeli vessel flying the flag of the Bahamas). Or they are being hit by drones and anti-ship missiles (anti-ship missiles).
On December 15, 2023, two container ships were shot down in the Red Sea, and a fire started on board them. The MSC Palatium III vessel, according to the US military, was hit by a ballistic missile defense system. It belongs to the Swiss company MSC. In this case, the Houthis were the first in the world to hit a ballistic missile into a ship sailing at sea in real conditions. The Houthis have Iranian-designed missiles, but Iran could only launch them during tests and exercises.
It is not known which RCC hit the ship. Iran has created anti-ship variants with optoelectronic homing heads (GOS) for several of its guided missiles and ballistic missiles. At least three of them were demonstrated by the Houthis in Yemen:
– a variant of the Iranian Fajr-4CL guided missiles/Fath-360 family missiles with optoelectronic GPS, which in Yemen were called Faleq;
– Iranian Khalij Fars anti-ship ballistic missiles (a variant of the Fateh-110 tactical missile with a range of 300 km), which were named Aasif in Yemen;
– the anti-ship version of Iran's Zoheir (Raad-500) shorter-range ballistic missiles with a range of up to 500 km, which were given the name Tankil in Yemen.
After the missile attacks, the Danish corporation AP Moller-Maersk and the German operator Hapag-Lloyd decided to suspend container shipments across the Red Sea. Following them, two more large companies announced the suspension of the passage of ships through the Red Sea – the French CMA CGM and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). It is known that the week-long blockage of the Suez Canal by the container ship Ever Given in 2021 cost $ 10 billion.
Earlier, a ballistic missile was launched from Yemen at the Israeli city of Eilat. The Israeli army reported that the missile was shot down over the Red Sea. The Houthis promised to continue the strikes until Israel stops its "aggression against the brave brothers in the Gaza Strip."
On December 19, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the launch of a multinational operation to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In addition to the United States, the coalition includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the Seychelles. But only the United States and Britain provided warships.
The operation was called "Keeper of Prosperity". It is conducted under the auspices of the United States-led Naval Forces. The headquarters of the command is located in Manama (Bahrain). The main purpose of the operation was declared by its participants to "ensure the freedom of navigation of all countries" and "strengthen security and prosperity."
On December 31, Houthi boats again tried to attack a merchant ship in the Red Sea. U.S. Navy helicopters responded to the attack, and the Houthis opened fire on them. The Americans sank three boats and killed ten of their crews.
On January 9, the Houthis attacked 18 UAVs, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile on coalition warships. All of them were intercepted by American and British air defense forces.
According to American data, the Houthis attacked a total of 27 ships and civilian vessels by January 11. More than 2,000 ships were forced to change course to avoid the Red Sea.
On January 11, a naval group of the US and British Armed Forces attacked positions of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement in the cities of Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Taiz and Dhamar. The Arab news channel Sky News Arabia reported that the international airport of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, was bombed.
The British Ministry of Defense said: one of the targets of the attack was "an object in Bani in northwestern Yemen, which was used to launch reconnaissance and attack UAVs." Another target was the airfield at Abbs. Four British RAF Typhoon FGR4 fighters carried out attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs. The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond was also involved in the operation.
The press service of the US Air Force reported that the strikes hit 60 targets at 16 sites: ammunition depots, missile launchers and air defense facilities. At the same time, more than a hundred high-precision ammunition of various types was used. US Navy aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles were used. CNN reported that an American Ohio-class nuclear submarine, the USS Florida, located in the Red Sea, also participated in the attack.
After the Strike on Yemen, Ansar Allah spokesman Yahya Saria said: "The American and British enemy, as part of their support for Israeli crimes in Gaza, launched a brutal aggression against the Republic of Yemen, inflicting 73 strikes." According to him, five people were killed and six others were injured as a result of the strikes.
On January 12, Muhammad Ali al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of the Ansar Allah movement, told RIA Novosti: "We attacked only ships associated with the Zionist entity [meaning Israel]. But now we will strike at maritime shipping associated with America and Britain and their interests in response to their aggression against Yemen." On the same day, the Americans and the British repeated the attack on Yemen, but on a smaller scale.
As a result of the strikes on January 11 and 12 on targets in the western part of Yemen, 90% of the intended targets were damaged or destroyed. But the group has retained three-quarters of its means of attack, sources tell The New York Times.
On January 15, an American ship came under rocket fire off the coast of Yemen, the Reuters news agency reported. "The British company Ambrey declares that a bulk carrier flying the flag of the Marshall Islands belonging to the United States was hit by a missile near Aden," the Reuters publication says. The attack led to a fire in the hold, the ship remained afloat. H
Vasily Ivanov
Vasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.
