Sri Lanka's navy is preparing to join a US-led operation to protect merchant vessels sailing in the Red Sea against attacks by Houthis, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman said on Tuesday. The Houthi attacks have targeted commercial shipping vessels transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links markets in Asia and Europe since November 19. These attacks are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the Houthi group says. The US and its allies launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect ship traffic, and warships from the US, France, and the UK are patrolling the area. No date has been set for sending the Sri Lankan ships, and the area they will patrol has not been finalized, said Navy spokesman Capt. Gayan Wickramasuriya. Houthis say no country can stop them from continuing their attacks on the Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
A truck loaded with wireless drones coming by transit system from the United Arab Emirates heading to the Republic of Yemen has been seized at Hafeet port. A statement issued online by Oman Customs said, "The General Administration of Customs was able to seize a truck at Hafeet port loaded with wireless drones coming by transit system from the United Arab Emirates heading to the Republic of Yemen. "Customs inspectors were able to discover the shipments that were hidden professionally in the truck, according to the statement. It added that the concerned authorities began investigating the case to complete the rest of the legal procedures against the suspects. The customs authority in Yemen's Al-Mahran province has repeatedly foiled weapon smuggling attempts from Oman to Yemen.
Oil and fuel tanker traffic in the Red Sea was stable in December, even though many container ships have rerouted due to attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, a Reuters analysis of vessel tracking data showed. The attacks have driven shipping costs sharply along with insurance premiums but have had less impact than feared on oil flows as shippers continue using the key East-West passage. "We haven't really seen the interruption to tanker traffic that everyone was expecting," said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a shipping analyst at Lloyd's List.Yemen's Houthis say they only target ships linked to Israel, vowing that their attacks will continue unless the Israeli war on Gaza stops.
Hezbollah launched explosive drones at an army base in northern Israel on Tuesday, declaring the attack part of its response to recent Israeli assassinations in Lebanon. The group said its drones had hit the Israeli army headquarters in Safed as part of retaliation for last week's killing of deputy Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut and in response to Monday's killing of a Hezbollah commander. An Israeli army spokesperson said a northern base was hit in an aerial attack, but there had been no damage or casualties. The three Hezbollah fighters killed on Tuesday died in a strike on their vehicle in the town of Ghandouriyeh in the south of Lebanon, the sources said.
