Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels said Thursday they have attacked almost 100 vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in months of strikes that have disrupted global shipping.
In a speech broadcast by the rebels’ Al-Masira channel, Huthi leader Abdel Malek al-Huthi announced new attacks against eight ships, adding that “the total number of enemy-linked vessels targeted… has reached 98”.
The attacks on vessels deemed linked to Israel or its allies have had “a massive effect and have been a success”, the rebel leader said.
The Huthis began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in November, a campaign they say is intended as a show of support for Palestinians in the war-battered Gaza Strip.
The Huthi attacks, which have disrupted traffic on the vital trade route, have been met with retaliatory strikes by US and British forces since January.
Israel’s close ally the United States set up a multinational task force late last year to “protect” Red Sea shipping.
But Huthi said “no one can stop us from carrying out operations in support of Palestinians in Gaza“.
The rebel leader welcomed Iran’s first direct attack on Israel at the weekend, calling it a “forceful response” to a deadly April 1 strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
