Yemen’s Houthis say they attacked ships in the Indian Ocean’s Gulf of Aden | Israeli War on Gaza News

An Iran-aligned group has threatened to step up attacks on ships until a ceasefire is reached in Israel’s war on Gaza.

Houthi rebels in Yemen reported attacks on two ships in the Gulf of Aden and one in the Indian Ocean.

The MSC Diego and MSC Gina were attacked with ballistic missiles and drones in the Gulf of Aden, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday.

The attacks on the ships in the Gulf of Aden – identified by the Houthis as “Israeli” MSC Diego and MSC Gina – were “correct”, Saree said, without giving details.

However, the U.S.-run Joint Maritime Information Center said two missile attacks took place on Tuesday, adding that no ship was hit and crews were safe.

The center, a coalition of countries responding to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Middle East, said the ships were targeted “likely due to perceived Israeli affiliation.”

The two ships were “Panama-flagged container ships” operating for a Geneva-based company, the Associated Press reported.

The Houthis claimed to have attacked a third container ship, the MSC Vittoria, in the Indian Ocean.

Saree warned earlier this month that the group would target ships heading to Israeli ports in “any area we can reach,” and announced that the decision would be implemented “immediately.”

The group has launched repeated drone and missile attacks on ships in the key shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with the Palestinians and against Israel’s war on Gaza.

This has forced shipping companies to reroute ships on longer and more expensive voyages through southern Africa.