USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group leaves the Middle East

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is sailing out of the waters of the Middle East, after eight months of skirmishes and fights with Houthi militants over the waters around Yemen. The aircraft carrier and the three ships that make its carrier strike group are now set to head into the European theater before eventually sailing back to the United States, U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement on X.  The carrier strike group had previously had its deployment extended, mostly recently in May. Along with other Navy ships, the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group shot down Houthi missiles and drones while also targeting Houthi sites in Yemen and participating in multinational bombings missions in the county.

A drone attack damaged a merchant ship in the Red Sea near Yemen early Sunday morning, though no injuries were reported, according to a British maritime security agency. Vessels in and around the Red Sea, which is vital to world trade, have come under repeated attack for months by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis say they are acting in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attack occurred about 65 nautical miles (120 kilometres) west of the Yemeni port city of Al-Hudaydah, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). All crew members are reported safe, and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," said a bulletin from the agency.

Yemen’s Houthis said early on June 23 that they had conducted a joint military operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq militant group, targeting four ships at Israel’s northern Haifa port. The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement that the two groups launched a drone attack on two cement tankers and two cargo ships at the Haifa port on June 22. He said the ships belonged to companies that “violated the ban on entering the ports of occupied Palestine”. The Iran-aligned Houthis first launched drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in November. In dozens of attacks, they have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.

At least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on districts of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave on Saturday, the director of the Hamas-run government media office said.One Israeli strike on houses in Al-Shati, one of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, killed 24 people, Ismail Al-Thawabta told Reuters. Another 18 Palestinians were killed in a strike on houses in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood. The Israeli war has left Gaza in ruins, killed more than 37,400 people, of whom 101 were killed in the past 24 hours, according to Palestinian health authorities.