Tensions spilling over from Gaza to Red Sea

The tensions spilling over from the war in the Gaza Strip to merchant shipping in the Red Sea escalated Saturday when Britain and the United States said their militaries had shot down more than a dozen attack drones.

The Houthis, an armed group that controls much of northern Yemen, have been staging drone and missile assaults on Israeli and American targets since the Oct. 7 Hamas- led attacks on Israel.

They have said they intend to prevent Israeli ships from sailing the Red Sea until Israel stops its war on Hamas, which rules Gaza. The Houthis and Hamas, like Hezbollah in Lebanon, are backed by Iran.

The shipping industry also was bracing for potential economic fallout as the Red Sea, a vital sea lane, is increasingly drawn into the regional unrest. U. S. Central Command said in a statement that a U. S. guided missile destroyer, the USS Carney, “successfully engaged” 14 drones launched from Houthicontrolled areas of Yemen. It said the confrontation resulted in no injuries or damage to ships in the area.

Earlier in the day, British Defense Secretar y Grant Shapps said the British warship HMS Diamond had shot down one suspected attack drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea overnight.

“The recent spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” he said in a statement. “The U. K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

Also on Saturday, the Houthi militia claimed to have launched a number of attack drones toward the Israeli Red Sea port of Eilat. Nir Dinar, an Israeli military spokesperson, said he could not confirm that claim.

The Egyptian state news media reported that its forces had shot down a drone off the coast of Dahab, a beach town on the Gulf of Aqaba about 90 miles south of Eilat. The report did not say where the drone had come from.

The Houthi s have launched attacks on Eilat several times during the Israel- Hamas war, and the arrival of commercial ships in the city, a major port, has come to an almost complete halt.

This past week, the Houthis hit a Norwegian tanker bound for Italy with a cruise missile and attacked a ship operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world’s largest container shipping company, causing fire damage but injuring no crew members.

The group’s fighters also hijacked another commercial vessel in November and are still holding 25 of its crew members. A Houthi spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said the group carried out its most recent attacks in solidarity with the Palestinian people to protest the “killing, destruction and siege” in Gaza.

In recent weeks, the U. S. has been in discussions with its allies to establish a naval task force to protect maritime traffic through the region, which Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, has compared with similar missions off the coast of Somalia to protect vessels from pirates.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Friday the U. S. was working with maritime forces to bolster security in the region.

But it is unclear how the task force might respond to future drone or missile attacks from the Houthis.

The United States has identified potential targets in Yemen should the Biden administration order airstrikes, two officials said.

But military officials said the White House appeared to be wary of military action for fear of setting off a broader regional war.

In recent days, the unrest in the region has led three major shipping companies, Hapag- Lloyd, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping, to stop sending vessels through the Red Sea temporarily, threatening to add costly weeks to the journey of any goods carried on their vessels.