DUBAI, December 3. /TASS/. The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthi) attacked two Israeli ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with the use of missiles and a drone, Ansar Allah movement spokesman Yahya Saria has said.
"This morning, the Yemeni Naval Forces conducted an operation against two Israeli ships - the Unity Explore and Number 9 - in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The former ship was attacked with the use of an anti-ship missile, the latter one - by a drone," he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.
The Houthi claim that they attacked the ships after they had dismissed the rebels’ warning. The Houthi warned that they would continue attacks on Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas until Israel ends its operation in the Gaza Strip.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said earlier on Sunday that it had received information about increased drone activity and, presumably, an explosion in the Ban el-Mandeb Strait. Later, the Al Hadath television channel said, citing sources, that the Houthi staged a drone attack on a British commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It ship was reportedly flying the British flag and had a British crew. Sources said that US and Israeli warships had repelled the attack.
Meanwhile, an unnamed Pentagon official told the Al Jazeera television channel that US Navy USS Carney destroyer and several commercial ships in the Red Sea were attacked with the use of missiles and drones launched from Yemeni territory. The US destroyer repelled the attack. No one was hurt. According to Al Jazeera, one of two presumably Israeli ships was damaged as a result of the Houthi attack in the Red Sea.
However, Reuters said, citing its source, that at least two drones attacked a bulk carried in the Red Sea. According Ambrey, a company dealing with maritime security issues, another ship, a cargo container vessel, was damaged as a result of a drone attack some 100 kilometers northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeida.