DUBAI, November 14. /TASS/. Yemen’s Houthis used 29 drones and missiles over the past week to attack merchant and other ships, and sites in Israel, said Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group’s leader.
"This week we used 29 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles for military operations. The targets of our operations, which were conducted on the territory of occupied Palestine, were the areas of Jaffa, Ashkelon and Umm al-Rashrash (the Arabic name for the city of Eilat - TASS), as well as the Israeli enemy's airbase in the Negev Desert," he said in an address to his supporters, which was broadcast by the Houthi-owned Al Masirah television channel.
He also mentioned the attack on the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, which was announced on Tuesday by Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesman. According to the Houthi leader, the aircraft carrier moved "hundreds of miles" away from the Yemeni coastline following the attack. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said US carrier groups are avoiding Red Sea waters for fear of further rebel attacks.
Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis, also known as the Ansar Allah group, said they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships affiliated with that country from passing through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ended. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since mid-November.
In response to these attacks, the US and UK announced preparations for Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Afterward, the UK and US started carrying out regular strikes on Houthi military sites in various Yemeni provinces.