TEL AVIV, December 3. /TASS/. The two ships that were attacked by the Yemeni Houthi in the Red Sea are not linked with Israel, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
"Today, missiles were fired toward two commercial ships, which have nothing to do with Israel. One ship was seriously damaged. It is in critical condition, running the risk of sinking," he said.
He condemned the Houthi attacks and linked them with Iran’s influence in the region, stressing that such actions jeopardize free navigation in the region. "This is Iran’s interference in our region, this is a global problem, a regional problem. We want to see how the world reacts to this. Free navigation is becoming dangerous in this region," he said.
The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthi) attacked the Unity Explorer and Number 9 ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with the use of a missile and a drone. The rebels claimed that these ships belong to Israel and the attacks were staged after their crews had dismissed the warning. The rebels said they would continue actions against Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas until Israel ends its operation in the Gaza Strip.