The military spokesman for the Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis), Yahya Saree, confirmed that a Norwegian ship heading to Israel was targeted with a naval missile.
This comes as a source in the Yemeni government told Tel Aviv Tribune that it had received an American invitation to participate in a military coalition to protect the Red Sea from Houthi operations, and that it had decided to participate in it.
Saree said that the naval forces carried out the military operation against the Norwegian ship “Stranda” after its crew refused to heed the warnings.
He added – in a statement broadcast on television – that the group targeted the tanker with a naval missile and that it “succeeded during the past two days in preventing the passage of several ships that responded to the warnings of the Yemeni naval forces and did not resort to targeting the Norwegian ship loaded with oil except after its crew rejected all warning calls.”
The group renewed its pledge that it will continue to prevent all ships of all nationalities from heading to Israeli ports “until they bring in the food and medicine our steadfast brothers need in the Gaza Strip,” according to the statement.
Reuters quoted the tanker’s owner as saying that it was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen and that it was “on the way to a safe port, and none of the 22 crew members were injured.”
A US official told Tel Aviv Tribune that a ship flying the Norwegian flag was attacked by a missile launched by the Houthi group, adding that the attack occurred near Bab al-Mandab and resulted in damage to the ship.
The official said in his statements to Tel Aviv Tribune that the US destroyer “Maison” responded to a distress call from the targeted ship, and confirmed that there was no American warship present during the missile attack by the Houthis.
Last Saturday, the Houthi group threatened to prevent the crossing of ships heading to Israel if food and medicine did not enter the Gaza Strip, stressing that any ship heading to Israel is a legitimate target.
Before that, the Houthis targeted ships they say are linked to Israel, but their latest threat expands the scope of their operations to include all ships heading to it.
The Houthis launched their first attacks on October 19, targeting Israel with cruise missiles and drones. Then they took control of a commercial ship in the Red Sea and detained 25 of its members. They also attacked 3 commercial ships, while France and the United States announced that they had intercepted Houthi missiles and drones that were heading to… To Israel.