Yemen’s Houthis have claimed carrying out a joint military operation with an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, to target four vessels in Israel’s Haifa port.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement on Sunday that the group fired drones at two cement tankers and two cargo ships at the port a day prior over noncompliance with a ban on entering “ports of occupied Palestine”.
Saree added that the group had also targeted a Shorthorn Express ship in the Mediterranean Sea using drones, and both operations “successfully achieved their goals”.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported an explosion occurred in Haifa at dawn after an air defence missile was launched towards the sea without activating the sirens. Israel’s military did not comment on the Houthi claim, but stated in a post on X that it had shot down a drone approaching the country overnight from the east.
In yet another incident, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said that a merchant ship was damaged by a drone attack in the Red Sea near Yemen early on Sunday morning, though no injuries were reported.
The attack occurred about 65 nautical miles (120km) west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, said the agency, which is run by the British navy.
It later claimed that yet another incident was detected on Sunday near Yemen’s Nishtun port, urging vessels to take caution.
