Yemen’s Houthis say they have attacked three ships, including one in the Mediterranean

CAIRO (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthis have launched attacks on three ships in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Friday.

The attacks are the latest in a months-long campaign by Houthi rebels against regional shipping, which the group says is a sign of solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza war.

In a televised address, Sarea said Houthi forces had attacked the ship Yannis in the Red Sea, the Essex in the Mediterranean and the MSC Alexandra in the Arabian Sea.

The Houthis “fired several missiles at the Essex ship in the Mediterranean Sea while it was violating the ban on entering occupied Palestinian ports,” Sarea added.

He did not provide any information about when the attacks took place.

Earlier this month, the leader of the Yemeni Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said the Iran-backed group would attack all ships heading to Israeli ports, not just those in the Red Sea region, which it had previously attempted to attack.

Since November, Iran-aligned Houthi fighters have repeatedly launched drone and missile attacks on ships in the key shipping lanes of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden to demonstrate their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

This forced shipping companies to divert their cargo to longer and more costly routes around southern Africa and raised fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread and destabilize the Middle East.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab, Nayera Abdallah and Mohamed Ghobari; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)