Sanaa (South24)

Today, the Yemeni Houthi militia announced that it had carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on three commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

A military statement posted on X by the official Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sarea, claimed that the attacks targeted two Israeli ships, the MSC Diego and MSC Gina, in the Gulf of Aden, and the MSC Vittoria container ship in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن استهداف سفينتين إسرائيليتين في خليج عدن الأولى سفينة MSC DEGO والأخرى سفينة MSC GINA. وكذا سفينة MSC VITTORIA بعمليتين عسكريتين. pic.twitter.com/gwICiNmSNR

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) May 9, 2024

The statement added that the attacks were precise in achieving their goals and that they came “as a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and in response to the US-UK aggression against Yemen.”

In a video speech on Thursday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said that the total number of commercial and military ships targeted by his group had reached 112.

Al-Houthi announced that any ship that transported goods to Israel would now be in the crosshairs after announcing the fourth phase of military escalation and wherever its next destination may be. 

"With the Israeli army storming the Rafah crossing, we will target any ship transporting supplies to Israeli ports wherever our missiles reach," he said.

Al-Houthi indicated that the decision to begin the fourth phase came after the newfound availability of what he called "the necessary capabilities to achieve the goals."

#BREAKING

Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi: We used 10 missiles and drones in our operations this week#south24 pic.twitter.com/3RtMBSWkws

— South24 | English (@South24E) May 9, 2024

Al-Houthi did not give further details about the new military capabilities acquired by the militant group, though the announcement comes at a time when the West has been accusing Iran of providing the Yemeni militia with more advanced support.

"We are considering launching the fifth phase of escalation and we have strategic options," Al-Houthi added.

On May 3, the Houthis announced an increase in the level of maritime military escalation to include the targeting of any ships linked to Israel or heading toward Israeli ports in the Mediterranean region.

So far, the Houthis have not announced any specific military operation in the Mediterranean Sea, while experts doubt the feasibility of the Houthis conducting such attacks.