Houthis during the detention of a ship in the Red Sea earlier (Anatolia)

The head of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of the Ansar Allah Houthi group, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, called on ships crossing the Red Sea not to go to occupied ports in Palestine, while Israel published photos of what it said were its warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthi leader added in a post on the X website that these ships should not falsify their identity and raise flags other than those of the royal state, and that they should not turn off radar, and respond quickly to the orders of the Houthi Ansar Allah group.

We advise you to avoid risks in the Red Sea with the following 1_ Not to close the pagers
2_ Quick response to the orders of the Yemeni Navy 3_ Not to falsify the identity and raise flags other than the flags of the owner countries
4_ Not to go to the occupied ports in Palestine
, the
Yemeni
armed forces have clearly declared their goal
in
supporting Gaza
A_ Stop ...

— Mohammed Ali al-Houthi (@Moh_Alhouthi) December 12, 2023

Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthi Ansar Allah group, said naval forces fired a missile at a Norwegian oil tanker bound for Israel. He said the tanker was targeted by a naval missile after its crew refused to heed all warning calls.

Twinkle Chemical Tankers, the owner of the Norwegian chemical tanker, which was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, said the tanker was now heading to a safe port, noting that the tanker's crew consisted of 22 people from India and none of them were injured.

Dangerous development

The Norwegian Shipping Association said the missile attack on the Norwegian-flagged tanker Strenda represented a serious development for the security situation of civilian shipping in the Red Sea.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said the potential consequences of escalating the regional conflict were very dramatic.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said that it is in close dialogue with relevant partners inside and outside the region, and called on all regional actors to work to de-escalate to avoid further negative developments in the region.

The owner of the tanker targeted by the Houthis was quoted by the Financial Times as saying the tanker was heading to Italy with a cargo of biofuels.

The Financial Times also quoted the owner of the tanker targeted by the Houthis as saying that the tanker was prepared to transport cargo from the Israeli port of Ashdod in January.

Israel's Ashdod port said on Tuesday that Houthi attacks in Yemen on commercial ships posed a threat to global shipping routes and maritime traffic to Israel, although they had no direct impact on the ports' operations.

The US Central Command also reported on the targeting of the tanker Strenda, saying that it was targeted while passing through Bab al-Mandab by an anti-ship cruise missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen. It said the tanker Strinda was damaged, leading to a fire on board but no injuries.

The US command added that the US destroyer "Mason" responded to the distress call launched by the tanker Strinda, and provided assistance

Meanwhile, the Israel Broadcasting Corporation said the ship was supposed to enter the port of Ashdod in Israel on the fourth of next month.

Kirby: U.S. is strengthening maritime task forces to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea (French)

Israeli battleships

The Israeli military released videos it said were of advanced Sa'ar six warships belonging to its navy and that it had pushed them into the Red Sea region, without giving any further details about their mission or how long they stayed there.

In a related context, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea represent an international problem that requires an international solution, and stressed during a press conference that US forces will continue to patrol international waterways, to support freedom of navigation and ensure security and stability in the region.

John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the US National Security Council, said his country is working to strengthen maritime task forces to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Kirby said in an interview with NBC News that Washington had made it clear to its partners, including Iran, that it did not want additional conflict in the region.

A Yemeni government source told Al Jazeera that the government had received a U.S. invitation to participate in a military coalition to protect the Red Sea. The source added that the Yemeni government will participate in this coalition with a formation of naval forces to confront Houthi operations, as he described.

U.S. Warning

The United States has warned the Houthis that a peace plan in Yemen negotiated with Saudi Arabia and handed over to the UN envoy will fail if attacks on commercial vessels off the coast of Yemen continue, citing pressure in Congress to designate Ansar Allah as a foreign terrorist organization.

According to diplomats quoted by them, the designation will disrupt the start of the first phase of the peace plan and would also mean blocking funds to be put in banks to pay civil servants, a key demand of Houthi Ansar Allah in the first phase of the peace plan.

The Houthis launched their first attacks on October 19, targeting Israel with cruise missiles and drones, then took control of a commercial ship in the Red Sea and detained 25 of its members, and attacked 3 commercial ships, while France and the United States announced that they intercepted Houthi missiles and drones that were heading to Israel.

Source: Agencies