DUBAI: Two ships were damaged in separate attacks off Yemen on Tuesday, a British maritime agency said, as regional tensions soared during Israel’s offensive on Lebanon.
One ship was hit by a sea drone, puncturing a ballast tank, and a second vessel was damaged by a missile less than three hours later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
In a statement, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi claimed responsibility for the attacks, naming the two vessels targeted as the Cordelia Moon and the Marathopolis.
The Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in what they describe as support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.
In the first attack, a port-side ballast tank, used to adjust buoyancy, was holed by an “uncrewed surface vessel”, UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said in a statement.
The same ship, sailing 64 nautical miles northwest of Hodeida, had come under threat earlier on Tuesday, UKMTO said, reporting four splashes nearby.
The second ship was damaged by a missile strike 97 nautical miles off Hodeida, UKMTO said, adding all crew were reported safe.
Months of Houthi drone and missile attacks have disrupted maritime traffic in the Red Sea and triggered reprisal strikes by the United States and Britain against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Tuesday pledged “practical support for the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples until the (Israeli) aggression is defeated and its criminal plans and expansionist conspiracies are thwarted”.
On Sunday, Israeli air strikes hit Hodeida after the Houthis said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
The attack on Hodeida, Israel’s second on the vital port city since July, killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, according to Houthi-run media.
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