VOA News | Thursday, February 22, 2024 
Houthis to Step Up Red Sea Strikes, Use ‘Submarine Weapons,’ Leader Says

DUBAI / ADEN / LONDON — Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a U.K.-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on a U.S. destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones. The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group’s leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters — including with new “submarine weapons” — to mirror Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November in support of Palestinians, as the Israel-Hamas war continues and the Gaza death toll reaches almost 30,000. “Operations in the Red and Arabian seas, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating and effective,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi added in a televised speech. He gave no details of the submarine weapons. The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal trade shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa…Read more