German Navy’s Sachsen-class frigate Hessen (F221) today intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by Yemeni-based Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. According to reports from the German news agency DPA, the UAVs were identified as Iranian-funded one-way attack (OWA) drones, commonly known as suicide drones, and were intercepted by the frigate. This interception marks the first active involvement of the German frigate Hessen since its deployment to the Red Sea as part of coalition forces. The German Navy’s F124 Sachsen-class frigate F221 Hessen recently entered the Red Sea after transiting the Suez Canal on February 24, 2024. Operation Aspides, led by Greece and Italy, is the latest EU counter-piracy initiative designed to protect commercial vessels navigating the south Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Port of Salalah has warned that ongoing disruption to commercial shipping in the Red Sea is also anticipated to negatively impact container volumes at the maritime gateway during Q1 2024. A top official said that the port and impacted customers and shipping lines are now exploring “alternative solutions,” including multimodal options to transport containers by road from Salalah to destinations further into the Gulf and the Middle East. Since November, the Yemeni Houthi movement has been targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that are owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting cargo to and from Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, which has been under brutal attack by Israeli forces. The months-long disruptions have forced many carriers to skip the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in favour of longer, alternative shipping routes.
Operatives from Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are working inside Yemen to support Houthi attacks on international shipping, a US official said Tuesday. Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, told a Senate subcommittee that Iran’s clerical state was “equipping and facilitating” the Houthi attacks, which have triggered retaliatory US and British strikes on Yemen. “Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives are supporting Houthi attacks from inside Yemen,” Lenderking said. “I can’t imagine the Yemeni people want these Iranians in their country. This must stop,” he said.
The Gaza war’s reported Palestinian death toll neared 30,000 Wednesday as fighting raged in the Hamas-run territory despite mediators insisting a truce with Israel could be just days away.Another 91 people were killed in overnight Israeli bombardment, the health ministry said.Mediators from Eygpt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to find a path to a ceasefire amid the bitter fighting, with negotiators seeking a six-week pause in the nearly five-month war. After a flurry of diplomacy, mediators said a deal could finally be within reach — reportedly including the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7 attack in exchange for several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
