Red Sea fights back: US Military forces shoot down over 12 Houthi Rebel missiles, protecting vital shipping lanes

US Military forces on December 27 announced that they had shot down over 12 drone missiles launched by Yemen-based Houthi rebels at shipping in the Red Sea, according to Pentagon. “There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” the Pentagon’s Central Command said in a social media post, describing a barrage of 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles over a period of 10 hours. Earlier, rebels announced that they were behind the missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack toward Israel in solidarity with Gaza.

In a statement, the Houthi rebels said they “carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship” they identified as MSC UNITED, and launched a number of “drones against military targets” in southern Israel. The attacks are the latest development of drone and missile strikes launched by the rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The claimed that they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas militants.

Also earlier on December 26, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said “explosions (were) heard, missiles were sighted” near the port of Hodeida on west coast, adding that a transiting vessel and its crew were safe, according to a report by AFP. The vessel proceeded with its journey after the incident, as reported by UKMTO, without indicating any significant damage or injuries to the crew. Earlier on Tuesday, two additional explosions happened in the vicinity of a vessel off Hodeida, as confirmed by the British maritime authority.

Simultaneously, explosions were audible off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, as reported by Egyptian state-linked media. Subsequently, the Israeli army disclosed that it had intercepted airborne objects in the Red Sea. “An air force fighter jet successfully intercepted earlier today in the Red Sea area a hostile aerial target that was on its way to Israeli territory,” the army said, as per the report.

Al-Qahera News television channel, which has links to state intelligence, had said the blasts occurred about two kilometres (1. 2 miles) from the Egyptian seaside town of Dahab, the report further added. Dahab lies around 125 kilometres (75 miles) south of Eilat on the southern tip of Israel, the closest target for Yemen’s rebels.

“We heard a loud explosion coming from the direction of the sea, and then we saw a strange object falling into the water,” an eyewitness told AFP. As per the Pentagon, the have executed over 100 drone and missile strikes, aiming at 10 merchant vessels from more than 35 diverse nations. These attacks pose a threat to a crucial transit route responsible for up to 12 per cent of worldwide trade.

As a precautionary measure, the United States had established a multinational naval task force to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea. Additionally, the Houthis have initiated a series of assaults towards Israel, with the majority falling short of hitting their intended targets. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more.

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