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Bab al-Mandeb double-tap
The internationally recognised government of Yemen accused the Iran-aligned Houthis of killing at least six people and wounding 10 others in a double-tap strike on a cargo vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Tuesday.
“killing at least six people and wounding 10 others”
Al Jazeera reported that the attack struck the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, and Yemen’s Transport Ministry said three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national were killed after the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the commercial ship.
The BBC said the transport ministry reported the vessel was hit with three ballistic missiles south of the port of Mocha, causing a fire on board and resulting in the deaths of four crew—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.
Yemen’s coastguard said a second missile strike hit the site of the rescue operation as forces were evacuating the dead and wounded, and it added that at least two troops were killed in the second strike.
Diplomacy, condemnation, and gaps
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and called on the international community “to move from condemnation to effective and decisive action” against the Houthis, while the BBC described the strikes as “the first deadly attack by the group on a vessel since the US and Israel began striking Iran on 28 February.”
The New York Times said the Yemeni Transport Ministry stated that the vessel Tihamah was carrying food supplies and that four crew members—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—were killed when a fire broke out on board.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar condemned the Houthi attack on social media, saying “Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”
CNN Arabic reported that Ishaq Dar wrote on X that “Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-military merchant vessel,” and it added that Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Taher Andrabi said Pakistan is coordinating with the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to obtain more information about the strike.
What comes next for shipping
The BBC said the Houthis launched their attacks on shipping last month by announcing a naval blockade of Saudi ports, after a years-long truce in Yemen’s civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government collapsed last month.
“drawing the country into a broader regional confrontation”
Al Jazeera reported that the UN called for restraint, saying the renewed hostilities risk “drawing the country into a broader regional confrontation, with devastating consequences for its people,” as the Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi-controlled Hodeidah and Kamaran.
The Arab Weekly said Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba warned the United Nations on Monday of growing regional risks, telling Rosemary DiCarlo that attacks on ports and maritime navigation were no longer confined to Yemen and posed a direct threat to regional security and international waterways.
In parallel, the Al Jazeera account tied the escalation to wider disruption of shipping lanes, noting that the attack marked the first shipping deaths linked to the Iran-aligned Houthis since the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28.