U.N. Security Council Demands Immediate End to Attacks on Ships in Red Sea
The United Nations Security Council demanded on Monday that the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen "cease immediately" their attacks on commercial and merchant vessels traversing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in line with international law and consistent with resolution 2722 (2024). In a statement, the Council members stressed the importance of the full implementation of resolution 2216 (2015) and subsequent resolutions. They called for "practical cooperation, including with the government of Yemen, to prevent the Houthis from acquiring the arms and related materiel necessary to carry out further attacks and reiterated that all Member States must adhere to their obligations in regard to the targeted arms embargo." The Houthis say their attacks are a form of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza where Israel has killed over 30000 people since October last year.
The U.S. military said it destroyed seven missiles and three drones Monday in areas of Yemen controlled by Houthis that presented threats to merchant ships and U.S. Navy vessels. United States Central Command forces destroyed the anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as three weapons storage containers in Huthi-controlled areas, CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X. "It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels," CENTCOM said.
Yemen's Houthi group attacked a ship early Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden, marking their latest assault on shipping lines in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the vessel's crew saw the blast as it passed off the coast of Aden, the port city in southern Yemen home to the country's exiled government. "No damage to the vessel has been reported, and the crew are reported safe," UKMTO said. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spurned a plea from Joe Biden to call off a planned ground assault of Rafah, the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million displaced people, where Israel believes Hamas fighters are holed up. Netanyahu told lawmakers on Tuesday he had made it "supremely clear" to the U.S. president "that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there's no way to do that except by going in on the ground". U.S. and Israeli officials will likely meet early next week in Washington to discuss Israel's military operation in Rafah, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday, citing deep concern about reports of imminent famine in Gaza.
