Yemen’s Houthis say they hit US warship

SANAA, Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi group said late Wednesday that it hit an American warship and forced two American commercial vessels to retreat after clashes with its forces in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandab Strait.

“In solidarity with the Palestinian people and in response to the American-British aggression on our country, clashes occurred with a number of American destroyers and warships in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandab Strait,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.

He said the clashes occurred while the ships were providing protection for two American commercial vessels and lasted for more than two hours.

Saree confirmed that Houthi missiles scored a direct hit on an American warship, forcing the two commercial vessels to “retreat from entering the Red Sea.”

He pointed out that "a number of ballistic missiles of the group reached their targets, despite attempts to intercept them by warships, and the armed forces (loyal to the Houthis) used several ballistic missiles in the engagement.”

He added that the group’s armed forces will “continue to prevent Israeli navigation or ships heading to the occupied Palestinian ports in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the cessation of aggression (by Israel) and lifting of the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

Saree also emphasized that they are “taking all necessary military measures within the legitimate right of defending our country, people and nation, targeting all American and British hostile targets in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.”

There was no immediate response from the American side, but the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced earlier Wednesday that the Houthi group targeted an American ship in the Gulf of Aden with three missiles, two of which were intercepted, while the third fell into the sea without causing injuries.

In solidarity with Gaza, which has been undergoing a destructive Israeli war since Oct. 7 last year with American support, the Houthis target cargo ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, negatively affecting shipping, trade and global supply chains.

Tensions in the Red Sea have escalated notably since the Houthis targeted a US ship directly on Jan. 9.

Intermittently since Jan. 12, a coalition led by the US has carried out airstrikes, saying they target Houthi positions in various regions of Yemen in response to the group’s attacks in the Red Sea, which have been met with a vow from the group that they “will not pass without a response.”

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala