The
latest attacks come as US officials acknowledge the American and British
bombardment of Yemen over the past seven weeks has been made difficult due to
insufficient US intelligence on Ansarullah’s arsenal and capabilities.
Earlier, the British security firm Ambrey said a container
ship was struck and issued a distress signal. The vessel was identified as
a Liberia-flagged, Israeli-affiliated container ship en route to
Djibouti.
“The vessel was listed as operated by the Israeli company
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services,” Ambrey added.
Ansarullah
said the targeting of the Israeli container ship occurred alongside the
execution of a qualitative operation involving ballistic missiles, drones
against several American warships in the Red Sea.
Ansarullah’s
military spokesman, Colonel Yahya Saree, noted in a brief statement that
Ansarullah’s armed forces struck the Israeli ship MSC SKY in the Arabian Sea
using several naval missiles, confirming that the hit was accurate and direct.
In a press release, the Container Group MSC acknowledged one
of its vessels has been hit by a missile while sailing in waters off
Yemen.
The Swiss headquartered operator MSC stated on Tuesday that
the Israeli container ship will proceed with its voyage to Djibouti for further
assessment after being struck by a missile on March 04 near Yemen’s southern
region of Aden.
The statement further read, “The missile caused a small fire
that has been extinguished while no crew were injured.”
Saree revealed that the targeting of the Israeli ship came
after the execution of what he described as a qualitative operation during
which the Yemeni missile force and air force launched a number of ballistic
missiles and drones against several American warships in the Red Sea.
Saree pointed out that these operations show the capability
of Ansarullah’s armed forces to target both combat and non-combat ships
simultaneously.
He emphasized that the movement’s operations are escalating
and ongoing in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab el
Mandeb strait, with the aim of preventing Israeli navigation or vessels heading
to the occupied Palestinian ports until the cessation of Israeli aggression and
the lifting of the blockade on the Palestinian people of Gaza.
He
affirmed that the Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to carry out more
military operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea against all hostile
targets in defense of Yemen, and as a confirmation of support for the
Palestinian people in Gaza.
Ansarullah reiterated its commitment to ensuring the safe
movement of navigation in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Bab el Mandeb
strait for all ships, except Israeli vessels and those heading to the occupied
ports, until the cessation of aggression on Gaza.
Recently, the targets have also included American and
British ships and warships due to the US-British aggression on Yemen.
The Sanaa government has blacklisted the US and Britain as states
hostile to Yemen.
The American and British militaries responded to the Yemeni
naval embargo on Israeli navigation in the Red Sea on January 12 by bombing
sites across Yemeni provinces that Washington says belong to Ansarullah in a
bid to deter the movement from its maritime operations.
The airstrikes by the US and the UK have continued on a
regular basis over the past seven weeks but have failed to deter the Sana’a
government from enforcing a ban on Israeli navigation.
Instead, US and British warships and vessels have found
themselves the target of Ansarullah’s range of fire.
Current
and former American officials have told the Financial Times that the US
military’s attempts to halt Yemen-based operations in the Red Sea are being
strongly hindered by insufficient intelligence about Ansarullah’s arsenal and
its full capabilities.
Washington has also been unable to assess the damage caused
by its airstrikes on Yemen, according to the paper.
Ted Singer, a recently retired senior CIA official, told the
Financial Times that acquiring on-the-ground intelligence has been more
difficult since the U.S. evacuated its embassy in Sanaa in 2015.
Just days ago, the Ansarullah leader Seyyed Abdul-Malik
al-Houthi, warned the Israeli regime, the US, and Britain of surprises that
will begin soon, while emphasizing that Yemenis continue to prevent ships
heading to the occupier entity through Bab el Mandeb until the aggression on
Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.
The Sana government's foreign ministry says all Yemeni-based
naval operations will come to a halt as soon as a ceasefire is reached in Gaza,
and humanitarian aid is allowed into the enclave.
