In response to Israel’s war in Gaza, the Iran-allied Houthi rebels, who control northern Yemen and its western coast, launched a wave of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the portal reminds.
By targeting ships linked and allegedly linked to Israel, the Houthis are trying to force Tel Aviv to end the war and allow humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
Some of the world’s largest shipping companies have suspended transit in the region, diverting ships to a route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The longer route resulted in higher freight rates due to higher costs of fuel, crew wages and insurance.
In this situation, European refineries suffer the most, the portal writes, adding that oil supplies to Europe from the Middle East have decreased by almost half as a result of constant attacks by Houthi rebels.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, US forces conducted an airstrike on a Houthi missile launcher that was prepared to launch an attack in the Gulf of Aden, the US military said. It was another attack by the coalition forces formed by the United States and Great Britain to protect trade routes in the Red Sea.
“US forces determined that the planned missile attack posed a threat to merchant ships and US naval vessels in the region, so they struck and destroyed the missiles,” US Central Command said in a statement published on the X platform.(PAP)
