JERUSALEM, Israel – The U.S military’s Central Command reported Tuesday that Houthi rebels in Yemen fired one of their largest rocket volleys of 21 missiles and drones at commercial shipping in the Red Sea since mid-November when the attacks began.
The repeated onslaught against ships in one of the world’s most important sea routes prompted a United Nations vote scheduled for Wednesday on a resolution condemning the attacks and calling for an immediate halt.
U.S. and British Navy ships thwarted the missile attack with no damage reported, but the U.S.-sponsored resolution claims the more than two dozen attacks launched since November impede shipping “and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security,” according to the Associated Press.
The Iranian-sponsored Houthi rebels, locked in a 10-year civil war against the Yemeni government, say the attacks are retribution for Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The draft U.N. resolution calls for the return of the commercial ship Galaxy Leader, a Japanese vessel with links to an Israeli company, captured on November 19 by the Houthis during the first attack.
Last week, 12 other countries joined the U.S. in issuing a statement warning, “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free
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