US Military Says It Destroyed 2 Houthi Missile Launchers in Yemen
The US military said on Tuesday that its forces had destroyed two anti-ship cruise missile launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. US Central Command said on the social media site X that the missile launchers "presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces and to merchant vessels transiting the region." Houthis claim to continue targeting ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to or from Israel in support of Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza.
The Treasury has imposed a financial and activity blockade against several shipping companies accusing them of transporting oil and other goods for terror-linked forces in the Middle East.The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Treasury Department has imposed a financial and activity blockade against several shipping companies accusing them of transporting oil and other goods for terrorism-linked forces in the Middle East. Most of the newly sanctioned entities, which included individuals, are linked to “Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal”, according to a Treasury statement. Sa’id al-Jamal, added to sanctioned foreign persons in June 2021 for supporting Houthi allies the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force of Iran, has allegedly been using a network of shipping firms to sell and deliver commodities to several jurisdictions including China and Syria.
A Greek-owned cargo ship was struck by a small craft off Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah and was not under command of the crew after sustaining damage in its engine room, maritime security firms and shipping sources said on Wednesday. The Liberian-flagged vessel, Tutor, was hit about 67.7 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, said British security firm Ambrey, and the incident bore the hallmarks of an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militia. “The vessel aligned with the Houthi target profile at the time of the incident,” Ambrey said in an advisory note.United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a small, 5-7 meters long craft of white color collided with the cargo ship’s stern. A Greek shipping ministry source said the vessel was also attacked from the air. This was later confirmed by UKTMO.
Gaza’s health authorities have said that 15,694 children have been killed and 17,000 are without parents after 250 days of Israel’s war on Gaza. Gaza’s Ministry of Health warns that hospitals, health centres and the only oxygen station in the Gaza City governorate are at risk of going out of service due to a lack of fuel. “Homes, hospitals, schools, universities, agriculture, the economy… devastated. And still the bombs fall,” says a UNICEF official from inside Gaza.At least 37,202 people have been killed and 84,932 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
