The Yemeni armed forces have launched attacks on two Israeli-bound ships sailing in the Red Sea amid a campaign to pressure Israel and allies to end their bloody aggression on Gaza.
In a statement on the X social media platform on Monday, spokesman of Yemen’s armed forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree identified the two ships attacked in the Red Sea earlier in the day as Swan Atlantic and MSC Clara.
The statement said the Yemenis had used naval drones to hit the ships, adding that the attacks were “in solidarity with the Palestinian people in light of the aggression against Gaza.”
The attacks are the latest under Yemen’s campaign of pressuring the Israeli regime and the US and other allies to end a war on Gaza that has killed over 19,000 people since early October.
The campaign is part of larger regional anti-Israeli military drive that also involves resistance groups in Iraq and Lebanon.
Commander of Yemen’s Fifth Military Zone Major General Yusuf al-Madani said earlier on Monday that the Arab country is ready for any reaction to its ant-Israeli attacks in the region.
Al-Madani said that Yemen’s armed forces could significantly increase their fire power to respond to any threat from “any party that seeks to drive a wedge between us and Palestine.”
He also warned that any move that intensifies tensions in Gaza would lead to an increase in tensions in the Red Sea.
The warnings came amid reports suggesting that the United States and allies may form a regional maritime task force to counter threats to shipping in the Red Sea.
It also came just hours before oil giant BP said in a statement that it had decided to suspend oil transit activity via Red Sea routes because of threats emanating from the Yemeni forces.
Major international shipping companies have changed the course of their vessels in the region after the Yemenis said earlier this month that any ship bound for the Israeli-occupied Palestine will be a legitimate target until the Israeli regime completely halts its aggression against Gaza.
