Yemen to escalate Red Sea strikes, uses submarine weapons

February 23, 2024 - 21:12

Yemen's Ansarullah forces will escalate their attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and other waters and have introduced "submarine weapons", in continued solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war, the resistance group's leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi said on Thursday, according to Khaleej Times.

Ansarallah forces in Yemen have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab Al Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November in support of Palestinians, as Israel’s war against Gaza continues unabated and the death toll in the coastal enclave reaches almost 30,000.

"Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab Al Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective," Abdulmalik Al Houthi added in a televised speech. He gave no details of the submarine weapons.

The leader's speech came the same day the Ansarallah forces sent shippers and insurers formal notice of what they termed a ban on vessels linked to Israel, the US and Britain from sailing in surrounding seas, seeking to reinforce their military campaign in support of Palestinians.

Ansarallah's communication, the first to the shipping industry outlining a ban, came in the form of two notices from the group’s newly-dubbed Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre sent to shipping insurers and firms.