US sinks Houthi boats in the Red Sea: How did the fight unfold? | Israel War on Gaza News

The US military talked about that it sunk three Houthi vessels throughout the Pink Sea in a press launch on Sunday, and killed 10 fighters of the Yemeni armed group after a battle in the middle of one in every of many world’s most crucial commerce waterways.

The escalation follows weeks of Houthi assaults on ships passing through the ocean, ostensibly in a bid to pressure Israel to stop its devastating battle on Gaza that has killed higher than 21,000 Palestinians throughout the besieged strip.

US destroyers have teamed up with just some totally different nations to attempt to stop the Houthi assaults throughout the Pink Sea beneath Operation Prosperity Guardian — though quite a lot of of its companions have distanced themselves from the initiative.

The Pink Sea battle on Monday was the first important direct military engagement between the US military and Houthi fighters. Right here’s what we study the way in which all of it unfolded:

What occurred on Sunday?

On Sunday at 6:30am Yemen time (03:30 GMT), the Denmark-owned and Singapore-flagged container ship Maersk Hangzhou issued a second distress identify in a day, reporting being attacked by 4 “Houthi small boats”, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X. CENTCOM added that the Houthis tried to board the Maersk vessel that was crusing through the Southern Pink Sea.

In response to this distress identify, helicopters from two warships, the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, flew within the course of the Maersk ship. CENTCOM talked about the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two antiship ballistic missiles fired on the Maersk vessel.

Why did the US sink Houthi boats?

4 small boats then attacked the an identical cargo ship with small arms fireplace and Houthi fighters tried to board the vessel, the US Navy talked about. The US Navy talked about it then warned the fighters to keep away from the ship, at which degree, the helicopters acquired right here beneath fireplace.

The helicopters fired once more, sinking three of the boats. Houthi crew members throughout the boats have been killed. The fourth boat escaped the realm and US personnel and kit didn’t bear harm, CENTCOM added.

“We’re going to behave in self-defence going forward,” a White Residence official talked about.

A spokesman for the Houthis confirmed that ten of their fighters have been “ineffective and missing” after their boats have been attacked.

Iranian-backed Houthi small boats assault service supplier vessel and U.S. Navy helicopters in Southern Pink Sea

On Dec. 31 at 6:30am (Sanaa time) the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU issued a second distress identify in decrease than 24 hours reporting being beneath assault by 4 Iranian-backed… pic.twitter.com/pj8NAzjbVF

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 31, 2023

How have Maersk and totally different transport corporations reacted?

Maersk launched on Sunday that it was pausing all crusing through the Pink Sea for the next 48 hours. On December 27, it had scheduled quite a lot of dozen container vessels to journey by means of the Suez Canal and the Pink Sea throughout the coming days and weeks.

Together with German transport agency Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk operates practically 1 / 4 of the world’s transport fleet.

Totally different transport corporations have moreover responded to the escalating maritime battle. Firms along with CH Robinson, Evergreen, HMM, Ocean Group Particular, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Yang Ming Marine Transport are planning to avoid the Pink Sea and enhance the number of ships rerouting spherical Africa’s Cape of Good Hope reasonably than the Suez Canal. This new route is longer and costlier. Evergreen has moreover briefly stopped accepting Israeli cargo.

Whereas these assaults have had a “fairly restricted” impression on the oil market to this point, consultants postulate that prices could rise if the situation continues.

Why are the Houthis attacking ships throughout the Pink Sea?

The Iran-backed Houthis began launching drones and missiles within the course of the southern elements of Israel in October shortly after the battle broke out on October 7.

However, the drones have been intercepted or fell fast. In a change of tactic, the group started attacking ships throughout the Pink Sea that they claimed have been linked to Israel. Their assaults have disrupted many ships for making their means into Israel.

On December 19, US Safety Secretary Lloyd Austin launched the establishment of a multinational maritime protection force to counter the Houthis. No matter this, the Houthis have talked about they’re going to not back down till Israel ceases its battle on Gaza.

No matter a multinational coalition agreeing to assist the US set off, solely the UK has instantly contributed warships, leaving Washington to efficiently “act alone” in opposition to the Houthis, tales Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar from Djibouti on the sting of the Pink Sea.

Serdar added that the US has “not been able to deter the Houthis” to this point, with the group waging attacks far more typically. He added that the newest battle marked a extreme escalation on account of the US not solely sunk Houthi boats however moreover killed Houthi fighters. Such confrontations are sparking fears of a regional escalation of the battle that may pull Yemen into the battle.