EU Red Sea Navy Hopes for More Ships to Counter Houthi Attacks
The commander of a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthis based in Yemen, as just four warships are patrolling an area twice the size of the 27-nation bloc. The EU mission — dubbed Aspides, from the Greek for “shield” — has escorted 68 ships and repelled 11 attacks since it was established less than two months ago. It only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone. “Just a single transit of one of our ships between the two larger distances to the area might take about 10 days, and also to cross the high-risk area takes almost two days,” Greek navy Rear Admiral Vasilios Gryparis, the commander of the mission, told reporters in Brussels on Monday. Nineteen of the 27 EU nations are involved in the mission but only four frigates are patrolling.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian renewed Iran's support for the attacks carried out by the Houthi group against ships in the Red Sea. Omani media reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister held talks with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the spokesman for the Houthi group, which has carried out dozens of attacks on ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Abdollahian "described the US and British attacks against Yemen as a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country. Iran-backed groups in the region have attacked Israeli and American vessels, warships and military sites since November last year.
The United Nations has said that over 17 million people in Yemen are in urgent need of health assistance. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen stated that "17.8 million people in Yemen require health assistance in 2024, with around 75% being women and children." The statement stressed the "critical need for funding to enable aid agencies to continue providing life-saving health assistance to those who need it most".
The White House welcomed on Monday the arrival on Sunday of more than 300 aid trucks in Gaza, but said it was pressing Israel to increase that number to around 350 a day, as talks continued on a hostage-release-and-ceasefire deal. White House spokesperson John Kirby said CIA Director William Burns was in Cairo over the weekend for a serious round of negotiations on securing the release of hostages being held in Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Hamas was now reviewing a new proposal.
