Yemens Houthis launch largest Red Sea drone, missile attack despite US warnings of consequences

Yemens Houthi rebels fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea, forcing the United States and British navies to shoot down the projectiles in a major naval engagement, authorities said Wednesday.

No damage was immediately reported.

The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis came despite a planned United Nations Security Council vote later Wednesday to potentially condemn and demand an immediate halt to the attacks by the rebels, who say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

However, their targets increasingly have tenuous or no relationship with Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe.

That raises the risk of a US retaliatory strike on Yemen that could upend an uneasy cease-fire thats held in the Arab worlds poorest country. 7 A Royal Navy warship shot down 7 drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Tuesday night. MOD

The assault happened off the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, according to the private intelligence firm Ambrey.

In the Hodeida attack, Ambrey said ships described over radio seeing missiles and drones, with U.S.-allied warships in the area urging vessels to proceed at maximum speed.

Off Mokha, ships saw missiles fired, a drone in the air and small vessels trailing them, Ambrey said early Wednesday. 7 The attack by Houthis came despite a planned United Nations Security Council vote later Wednesday to potentially condemn and demand an immediate halt to the attacks by the rebels. MOD

The British militarys United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations also acknowledged the attack off Hodeida.

The US militarys Central Command said the complex attack launched by the Houthis included bomb-carrying drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile.

It said 18 drones, two cruise missiles and the anti-ship missile were downed by F-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as by American Arleigh Burke-class destroyers the USS Gravely, the USS Laboon and the USS Mason, as well as the United Kingdoms HMS Diamond. 7 The assault happened off the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, according to the private intelligence firm Ambrey. MOD

This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, Central Command said. There were no injuries or damage reported.

Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity, the UKTMO added.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps described the assault as the largest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date, saying the Diamond used Sea Viper missiles and guns to shoot down multiple drones.

The UK alongside allies have previously made clear that these illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and if continued the Houthis will bear the consequences, Shapps said in a statement. We will take the action needed to protect innocent lives and the global economy.

The Houthis, a Shiite group thats held Yemens capital since 2014, did not formally acknowledge launching the attacks.

However, the pan-Arab satellite news network Al Jazeera quoted an anonymous Houthi military official saying their forces targeted a ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea, without elaborating. 7 That launch now raises the risk of a US retaliatory strike on Yemen. Houthi Movement via Getty Images

The Houthis say their attacks aim to end the pounding Israeli air-and-ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip amid that countrys war on Hamas.

However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.

The Red Sea links the Mideast and Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, and its narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait. 7 So far, the Houthis have not formally acknowledged launching the attacks. via REUTERS

That strait is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Nearly 10% of all oil traded at sea passes through it. An estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait annually.

AUS draft resolutionbefore the UN Security Council, obtained late Tuesday by The Associated Press, says the Houthi attacks impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security. 7 A man holds a picture of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, as supporters rally to commemorate ten Houthi fighters killed by the US Navy in the Red Sea, in Sanaa, Yemen on Jan. 5, 2024. REUTERS

The resolution would demand the immediate release of the first ship the Houthis attacked, the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company that it seized in November along with its crew.

An initial draft of the resolution would have recognized the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to take appropriate measures to defend their merchant and naval vessels.

The final draft is weaker, eliminating any U.N. recognition of a countrys right to defend its ships. Instead, it would affirm that the navigational rights and freedoms of merchant and commercial vessels must be respected, and take note of the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms.

A US-led coalition of nations has been patrolling the Red Sea to try and prevent the attacks. American troops in one conflictsank Houthi vessels and killed 10 rebel fighters.

Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews, the countries said last Wednesday. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the regions critical waterways. 7 A Houthi trooper stands guard during a demonstration to commemorate ten Houthi fighters killed by the US Navy in the Red Sea. ZUMAPRESS.com

Theres been no broad retaliatory strike yet, despite warnings from the US. However, Tuesdays attack appeared to be testing what response, if any, would come from Washington.

Meanwhile, a separate, tentative cease-fire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemens exiled government has held for months despite that countrys long war.

Thats raised concerns that any wider conflict in the sea or a potential reprisal strike from Western forces could reignite those tensions in the Arab worlds poorest nation. It also may draw Iran, which so far has largely avoided directly entering the wider Israeeeel-Hamas war, further into the conflict.