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The British destroyer HMS Diamond — Houthis continue to attack commercial shipping lanes, and this time, it claimed to have targeted a British merchant vessel in the Red Sea.
AFP
The Israel-Hamas war is now on its 119th day, and tensions in the Middle East are fast reaching a problematic high as Yemeni Houthi rebels, just one of many militias backed by Iran, continue to threaten shipping activities in the Red Sea.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare’e said the Yemeni rebel militia “targeted a British commercial ship in the Red Sea” that was en route to Israel Thursday.
The U.S. has approved a series of retaliatory strikes to be launched against an Iran-backed militia following the killing of three American servicemen in Jordan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced. The strikes are expected to target militants in Syria and possibly, in Iraq.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) shot down a drone over the Gulf of Aden and conducted strikes on a Houthi explosive unscrewed surface vehicle (USV) in the Red Sea.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue its military campaign and move toward Rafah, an area that has particularly become more packed with Palestinian civilians as fighting intensified.
Amid ongoing fighting in war-torn Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank accused of attacking Palestinians.
Violence in the West Bank stems from the long history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants invaded Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting some 240 hostages, around 130 of which are still being held in Gaza.
In the tension-packed Israeli-Lebanese border, Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed paramilitary group, said it attacked IDF assets at the Shebaa Farms, a contentious land area claimed by Lebanon.
