Merchant ship targeted off the coast of Yemen

Shafaq News / The British Maritime Trade Operations announced, on Saturday, that an unidentified projectile caused a fire aboard a ship in the latest attack of its kind in the Red Sea.

The agency stated, "The ship's crew successfully extinguished the fire resulting from the projectile, and we received notification of the ship and its crew's safety, and the ship continued its journey to its next destination."

Notably, the agency did not provide further information about the name or origin of the ship.

The Houthis (Ansar Allah) have been launching frequent drone and missile attacks on international commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November.

They claim solidarity with Palestinians facing Israel's actions in Gaza.

These near-daily assaults have compelled companies to redirect their ships through longer and more expensive routes around Africa, sparking concerns about potential destabilization in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In response to these attacks, the United States and Britain have targeted Houthi assets.

The impact of the Houthi decision reaches halfway to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a 20-kilometer-wide passage that serves as the gateway to the Red Sea. Approximately 15% of global shipping traffic transits through this strait to and from the Suez Canal.

Despite many Western accusations suggesting Iran influences Houthis to target vessels, both Tehran and the Yemeni group deny such claims.

Iran asserts that Ansarallah makes independent decisions, akin to other movements in the "Axis of Resistance," which includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraqi factions, and others.

All groups within the Axis have declared that their attacks will persist until a ceasefire is achieved in the Gaza Strip, where Israel's actions have resulted in the deaths of over 32,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women.

The Israeli aggression has also displaced approximately 1.5 million people, leading to the destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and even UN facilities.

The United Nations reports that the Gaza Strip is currently experiencing famine conditions, exacerbated by Tel Aviv's rejection of humanitarian aid through Rafah.

Tragically, dozens of children, including newborns in Gaza have died of hunger so far.