US ship is hit by Houthi missile
» Destroyer is also targeted » PM justifies UK retaliation
A HOUTHI missile hit a US-owned ship yesterday just off the coast of Yemen, less than a day after fighters fired at an American destroyer.
The strike on MV Gibraltar Eagle is the latest in weeks of attacks on western shipping which prompted air raids on Yemen targets by the UK and US.
The first incident took place as the US warship patrolled the Red Sea as part of a 13 nation shipping protection mission against Houthi attacks.
Addressing MPs yesterday on UK involvement, PM Rishi Sunak said failing to retaliate would have meant British vessels were seen as “fair game”.
Violence in the region is increasing, including a vehicle-ramming attack that killed a 70-year-old woman and injured at least 17, including children, in Israel.
The Houthis say they are attacking shipping in support of Hamas in their war with Israel, in which 24,000 Palestinians have died and 1,400 Israelis. The
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the attack on the vessel happened 110 miles southeast of Yemen’s port city of Aden.
The hit caused a fire in the hold but the ship, owned by Eagle Bulk, remained seaworthy. No casualties were reported.
The missile on Sunday, shot down by a warplane, was fired in the direction of the USS Laboon, US Central Command said. The missile came from near Hodeida, a Houthi-held port city, it said, adding: “An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon.” The first day of US-led strikes on
Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets, with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine.
Sites struck included weapon depots and command centres. The Houthis said five of their troops died and six were wounded.
US forces followed up with a strike on Saturday on a radar site. Defending the action taken, Mr Sunak said: “It was limited, not escalatory. It was a necessary and proportionate response to a direct threat to UK vessels and therefore to the UK itself.”
The Saudi-led, US-backed war in Yemen that began in 2015 has killed more than 150,000 people.
In an attack in Ra’anana, north of Tel Aviv, two attackers from Hebron drove into people in two different locations.
An elderly Israeli woman and her son were killed in a Hezbollah attack in the northern border town of Kfar Yuval.
The Israeli military said it killed four gunmen trying to cross from Lebanon.
THE missile fired by Houthis that hit a US-owned container in the Red Sea was explosive proof that this conflict wasn’t ended by the UK and US bombing Yemen.
Sitting back and doing nothing while the Iranian-backed Islamists attacked vessels on a major trade route may never have been the answer, but military force alone does not produce peace in the Middle East.
The danger of escalation across the region, Hamas-backing Houthi leaders citing the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza for their own attacks, is a genuine concern.
And Rishi Sunak justifying military action ducked searching questions about strategy from Keir Starmer, despite receiving Labour’s support. Just as a ceasefire is necessary in Gaza, another is required in the Red Sea.