Latest news with #BrigGenYahyaSaree
Al Bawaba
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Houthis sink second ship in Red Sea in 24 hours over Gaza-linked Israel embargo
ALBAWABA- In a renewed escalation of maritime attacks, Yemen's Houthi forces targeted a second commercial vessel within 24 hours in the Red Sea, heightening fears of a broader conflict in one of the world's most critical shipping lanes. Also Read Houthis resume naval blockade on Israel-bound vessels The latest strike hit the Greek-owned bulk carrier Eternity C, en route to Israel's Haifa port, marking another attempt by the Houthis to enforce what they call a 'naval blockade' on Israeli-bound vessels. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree confirmed the attack in a televised statement on Wednesday, stating that an unmanned boat, along with six cruise missiles, had struck the Eternity C after multiple warnings were issued to the ship's operating company. بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن استهداف القوَّات البحرية، سفينة (ETERNITY C) التي كانت متجهة إلى ميناء أُم الرشراش بفلسطين المحتلة، وذلك بزورق مسير وستة صواريخ مجنحة وباليستية. وقد أدت العملية إلى إغراق السفينة بشكل كامل، والعملية موثقة بالصوتِ والصورةِ. — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21yemen) July 9, 2025 The statement, released by the Houthi-run Yemeni Armed Forces, accused the vessel of violating a decision banning entry to ports in 'occupied Palestine.' The attack came just a day after a similar assault on another ship, Magic Seas, signaling an intensifying campaign that may disrupt Red Sea trade and potentially reengage Western military forces in the region. The EU's maritime security mission, Operation Atalanta, reported that Eternity C had 21 Filipino crew members, one Russian, and three security personnel on board. Prior to the incident, the vessel had not requested naval escort. Following the strike, Houthi-aligned medical teams reportedly evacuated the injured crew, but no details were provided about their number or current location. The ship was approximately 60 miles southwest of Hodeida, a Red Sea port under Houthi control, when it was attacked. The consecutive maritime strikes, along with a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting Houthi positions earlier Monday, have sparked fears of a new wave of conflict that could see the Red Sea crisis expand further. The situation echoes past confrontations when U.S. and allied forces were drawn into direct action against the Houthis, particularly during the Trump administration's retaliatory air campaign. Since November 2023, the Houthis have declared their military operations in the Red Sea part of a broader regional response to the continued Israeli assaults in Gaza. The group claims its targeting of vessels bound for Israeli ports is a show of solidarity with Palestinians and a tactic to pressure Israel by disrupting maritime commerce.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim attack on bulk carrier Magic Seas, which is now sinking in the Red Sea
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday claimed an attack on the bulk carrier Magic Seas, which is now sinking in the Red Sea. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree made the claim in a prerecorded statement. He acknowledged the Houthis attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned vessel with bomb-carrying drone boats and missiles. The attack Sunday left the Magic Seas ablaze in the Red Sea. Its 22 crew abandoned the ship and were safely recovered. Saree said the Houthis attacked the vessel as the ship belonged to a company it said continued to do port calls in Israel. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel's military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who responded with missile fire targeting Israel. The strikes came after an attack Sunday targeting a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. Suspicion for the attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said bomb-carrying drone boats appeared to hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The rebels' media reported on the attack, but didn't claim it. It can take them days sometimes before they acknowledge an assault. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign. The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also was traveling to Washington to meet with Trump. Israeli strikes target Houthi-held ports The Israeli military said that it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. It released footage showing an F-16 launching from Israel for the strike, which came after the Israeli military issued a warning for the area. 'These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies,' the Israeli military said. The Israeli military also said it struck the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying vessel that the Houthis seized back in November 2023 when they began their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war. 'Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,' the Israeli military said. The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said that no Israelis were on board. The ship had been operated by a Japanese firm, NYK Line. The Houthis acknowledged the strikes, but offered no damage assessment from the attack. Their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed its air defense forces 'effectively confronted' the Israelis without offering evidence. Israel has repeatedly attacked Houthi areas in Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Both Israel and the United States have struck ports in the area in the past — including an American attack that killed 74 people in April — but Israel is now acting alone in attacking the rebels as they continue to fire missiles at Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to launch further strikes. 'What's true for Iran is true for Yemen,' Katz said in a statement. 'Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.' The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said that it attempted to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they appeared to make impact, though no injuries have been reported. Sirens sounded in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea. Saree on Monday claimed to launch missiles and drones targeting Israel in its attack. 'We are fully prepared for a sustained and prolonged confrontation, to confront hostile warplanes and to counter attempts to break the naval blockade imposed by our armed forces on the enemy,' Saree said. Ship attack forces crew to abandon vessel The attack on the Magic Seas, a bulk carrier heading north to Egypt's Suez Canal, happened about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the Houthis. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, center first said that an armed security team on the vessel had returned fire against an initial attack of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, though the vessel later was struck by projectiles. Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, said that the Magic Seas also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could be a major escalation. It said that two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board. UKMTO said the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. They were rescued by a passing ship, it added. A European Union anti-piracy patrol in the region, called Operation Atalanta, said that 22 mariners had been on board the Magic Seas. Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister for Yemen's exiled government opposing the Houthis, identified the vessel attacked as the Magic Seas and blamed the rebels. The ship had been broadcasting that it had an armed security team on board in the vicinity where the attack took place and had been heading north. 'The attack also proves once again that the Houthis are merely a front for an Iranian scheme using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability, at a time when Tehran continues to arm the militia and provide it with military technology, including missiles, aircraft, drones, and sea mines,' al-Eryani wrote on the social platform X. The Magic Seas' owners didn't respond to a request for comment. Houthi attacks came over the Israel-Hamas war The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks. The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven't attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
The National
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Houthis strike Israel in co-ordination with Iran
Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Sunday they had launched missiles at Israel in co-ordination with Iran, in the first acknowledged military action in support of Tehran by one of its regional proxies since the start of Israeli attacks on Iran on Friday. Houthi troops targeted Tel Aviv with several ballistic missiles in the previous 24 hours, the militia's military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in an announcement reported by the rebel-aligned Saba news agency. 'Triumphing for the oppressed Palestinian and Iranian peoples … This operation was co-ordinated with the operations carried out by the Iranian army against the criminal Israeli enemy,' he said. The operation was successful, he said, without offering details. Israel launched its biggest military strike against Iran on Friday, prompting Iran to respond with drones and then salvos of ballistic missiles. The Houthis 'salute Iran, its people, army, and leadership, as they bravely, willfully, resolutely, and faithfully confront the brutal Zionist aggression', Brig Gen Saree said. Israel said on Friday that a missile launched from Yemen fell in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Houthis, however, did not claim responsibility for that attack. The region is braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran responded by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Iran, and neither side has showed any sign of backing down. The Houthis, along with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, began launching drone and missile attacks on Israel after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Hezbollah was once considered Iran's first line of defence against Israeli attacks, but Israel's retaliatory strikes against the group last year killed its political and military leaders and largely destroyed its arsenal. Lebanese officials have urged Hezbollah not to respond to the Israeli attacks on Iran and the group has assured them it would not, security sources told The National on Saturday. Iran-backed groups in Iraq, who also launched attacks on Israel over the war in Gaza, have responded to the attacks on Iran by calling for the accelerated the departure of US troops from the country, with the powerful Kataeb Hezbollah warning of 'additional wars in the region'. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen in recent months. The group also faced near-daily US strikes since mid-March, until US President Donald Trump halted the offensive after the Houthis agreed to stop attacks on American ships.
