Security Council demands end to Red Sea attacks

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning and demanding an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area.

The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, says at least two dozen Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce “and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security.”

The vote was 11-0 with four abstentions — Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique. Immediately before the vote, the council rejected three proposed Russian amendments.

The Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014, have said they launched the attacks with the aim of ending Israel’s devastating air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

It was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel which killed about 1,200 people and led to some 250 others being taken hostage. Israel’s threemonth assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, according to the Hams-run Health Ministry in Gaza which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The resolution would demand the immediate release of the first ship the Houthis attacked, the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company that it seized on Nov. 19 along with its crew.

However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue. In the latest incident, a barrage of drones and missiles fired by the Houthis late Tuesday targeted shipping in the Red Sea, though the U.S. said no damage was reported.