What to Know:
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack against the American-operated tanker “Chem Ranger” in the Gulf of Aden.
The Statement:
In a statement, the Houthis said “The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against an American ship (Chem Ranger) in the Gulf of Aden with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits.”
It was previously reported by the UKMTO that a drone exploded approximately 30 meters off the vessel’s port side. No damage or casualties reported.
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As always, they added that “Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that navigation traffic in the Arab and Red Seas will continue to all destinations around the world except for the ports of occupied Palestine, and that the block of Israeli navigation or heading to the ports of occupied Palestine will continue until the ceasefire.”
Why it Matters:
This marks yet another attack against an American commercial vessel, marking the third since the United States began targeting Houthi launch platforms on January 11.
The Houthis have maintained that they are only targeting Israeli vessels or vessels heading to Israeli ports, adding that attacks “will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege imposed on the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.” However, the Houthis have increased their targeting of American vessels not heading to or from Israel.
As stated previously, Israel has shown no signs of stopping military operations in Gaza, having pledged to completely destroy Hamas. With that being said, the Houthis have shown no signs of stopping attacks because of this.
More American strikes are expected to be carried out in response to this latest attack.
