Houthis Fire Seven Missiles/Drones at US Vessels in Arabian Sea

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Describing their actions as a demand for the blockade of Gaza to be lifted, Houthi Islamic insurgents in Yemen fired seven missiles and drones at American warships and merchant vessels in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, December 1, Straight Arrow News (SAN) reports.

The US Navy successfully shot down all the missiles, and there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The Houthi insurgent group in Yemen is allied with Iran and sympathizes with Hamas and the Palestinian quest for statehood. Claiming solidarity with Hamas, the group began firing missiles at US and Israel-affiliated vessels in the Middle East soon after last year’s October 7 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the current war in Gaza.

In a statement Sunday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the strikes against the US vessels and called for the Gaza blockade to be lifted as a means to meet Palestinians’ humanitarian needs, SAN reports. Imposing severe land, sea, and air restrictions on the population of Gaza, the blockade was instituted by Israel and Egypt in 2007, shortly after the Hamas terrorist organization took control of the coastal enclave.  While the blockade has been criticized internationally as a collective punishment for the entire population of Gaza, Israel asserts it is necessary to prevent the flow of weapons and materials that Hamas could use to carry out terror attacks against Israelis.

US Central Command said in a statement that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones, and one anti-ship cruise missile on Sunday. CENTCOM did not identify the merchant ships, although Saree identified them as Stena Impeccable, Maersk Saratog, and Liberty Grace, SAN reports.

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