The US State Department suggested in a statement on Tuesday that the US could restart its bombing campaign in Yemen after the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, attacked two commercial ships in the Red Sea, operations the Houthis say will stop if there’s an end to Israel’s genocidal war and siege on Gaza.
“These attacks demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
“The United States has been clear: we will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks, which must be condemned by all members of the international community,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Houthis took credit for the Monday attack on the Eternity C, a Greek-owned cargo ship, which reportedly killed four crewmembers. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the ship was en route to the Israeli port of Eilat.
“The attack was carried out with an unmanned boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles,” Saree said. “The operation resulted in the complete sinking of the ship, and the operation was documented with audio and video.”
According to The Guardian, seven crewmembers of the Eternity C have been rescued, four were confirmed killed, and 14 are missing. Saree said Yemeni forces “rescued a number of the ship’s crew,” suggesting the crewmembers who are missing could be in Yemen.
The Houthis previously released photos and videos of the sinking of the Magic Seas, another Greek-owned ship that was targeted on Sunday. The attack on the Magic Seas marked the first time the Houthis targeted a commercial ship this year. The group halted its attacks after a ceasefire was reached in Gaza in January of this year. But after Israel violated the deal by imposing a total blockade on the Palestinian territory in March, the Houthis announced Yemen was re-imposing its blockade on Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
It was in response to that announcement that the Trump administration began a major bombing campaign in Yemen on March 15, which lasted until May 6. Throughout the heavy US missile strikes on Yemen, the Houthis were able to fire missiles and drones at US warships and at Israeli territory. The bombing campaign was especially brutal and killed more than 250 civilians.
President Trump framed his ceasefire with the Houthis as a victory, but the US essentially gave up on trying to stop Yemeni attacks on Israel. The Houthis agreed not to target US naval or commercial vessels, meaning the attacks on Greek-owned cargo ships don’t violate the deal. The Houthis have maintained that all of their attacks will stop if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
