In a suspected attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels, missiles hit a ship in the Gulf of Aden and start a fire

DUBAI – A ship was hit by missiles and set on fire in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday in a suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, authorities said, the latest such attack in their campaign against the war between Israel and Hamas.

The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, the British naval and trade center United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKT) said. The ship caught fire during the attack, it said.

Private security company Ambrey said a merchant ship had radioed a distress call saying it had been hit by a missile.

The ship was “en route from Malaysia to Venice, Italy,” Ambrey said, adding that the ship was “aligned with the Houthi target profile,” without providing further details.

The Houthis did not immediately admit to Thursday’s attack, but it usually takes hours or even days for rebels to claim responsibility. The attack followed a Houthis bombing from a boat on a merchant ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday.

The Houthis, who seized the Yemeni capital nearly a decade ago and have recently been battling a Saudi-led coalition, are attacking shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor.

They say the aim of the attacks is to end the war and support the Palestinians. However, the attacks are often directed against ships that have nothing to do with the conflict.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have died in the war, according to Gaza health officials, while hundreds more have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

According to the US Maritime Administration, the Houthis have carried out more than 50 attacks on ships since November, killing three sailors, hijacking one ship and sinking another. Since January, the Houthis have been the target of a US-led airstrike campaign. In a series of attacks on May 30, at least 16 people were killed and 42 others injured, according to the rebels.