Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday they had "targeted" a container ship bound for Israel. The Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group had "targeted" the CMA CGM Tage container ship (CMACG.UL) without elaborating. He made no mention of the place and time of the attack. He added that the Houthis had sent out warning messages to the ship and that its crew had paid no heed. The French shipping firm CMA CGM told Reuters the vessel was unharmed and had suffered no incident. The company also said the ship was heading for Egypt, not Israel. Sarea reiterated that they would continue their attacks until aid enters Gaza and threatened the U.S. He said, "No U.S. attack will pass without a response or punishment." Several shipping lines have suspended operations through the Red Sea waterway in response to the attacks, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.
Danish shipping company A.P. Moeller-Maersk said Tuesday it is pausing all transits through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until further notice, following an incident with one of its vessels Saturday. Maersk said an investigation into an attack on its vessel, Maersk Hangzhou, on Saturday is ongoing, and the company is continuing to pause all cargo movement "while we further assess the constantly evolving situation." On Saturday, the Maersk Hangzhou "was hit by an unknown object" after passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait from Singapore to Port Suez in Egypt. Later, four boats approached the vessel after the initial attack and opened fire, but the vessel's security team was able to keep the attackers from boarding the vessel. The U.S. forces intervened and sank three boats, killing the armed crewmen.
U.K. diplomats keep trying to end Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea as the country's military draws up plans for strikes against the group. British diplomats are speaking to both the Houthis, who control the north of Yemen, and the country's UN-backed government, which rules the south, a London-based diplomatic source said. The U.K. was also seeking avenues through Arab countries, which do not want to see an escalation in the region, the source said. Foreign Secretary David Cameron spoke to his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in recent days in an attempt to pressure Tehran to exert influence over its proxy. On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied Tehran's role in the hostilities.
The Israeli army has said it is "prepared for any scenario" after a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas's deputy chief. A high-level security official in Lebanon told AFP that Saleh Al-Aruri was killed along with his bodyguards in a strike by Israel, which has vowed to destroy Hamas after the movement's shock October 7 attacks. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military was in a "very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and offense. We are highly prepared for any scenario.
