Ansarallah threatened to treat any ship headed to Israel as a ‘legitimate military target’.
In response, the Saudi-appointed parallel government in the south revealed they intend to participate in a ‘multinational force to protect navigation in the Red Sea’
Yemen’s Armed Forces on 12 December took responsibility for a missile attack on a Norwegian vessel north of the Bab al-Mandab strait which was en route to Israel.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out an [efficient] military operation against the Norwegian ship ‘Astrinda,’ which was loaded with oil and headed to the Israeli entity. It was targeted with a suitable missile,” the Yemeni statement read.
1-The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation against the Norwegian ship “Astrinda”, which was loaded with oil and headed to the Israeli entity. It was targeted with a suitable naval missile.
— Yahya Sare’e (@Yahya_Saree) December 12, 2023
“Over the past two days, the Yemeni armed forces succeeded in preventing the passage of several ships. They responded to the warnings of the Yemeni naval forces, who did not resort to targeting the Norwegian ship loaded with oil until its crew rejected all warning calls,” it added.
“The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target any ship that violates what was stated in the previous statements [and will] continue to prevent all ships of all nationalities heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” the statement added.
Ship tracking data indicated the vessel’s destination was Venice, Italy. The head of the company that owns the vessel told Al-Jazeera that there were no injuries and the ship had proceeded to “a safe port.”
However, Hebrew media reports said the ship was scheduled to anchor at Ashdod port next month.
The Ansarallah resistance movement and Yemen’s Armed Forces have declared war on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and elsewhere in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Since 19 November, Yemen has seized one Israeli-linked ship and has launched drone attacks against at least two others.
The Yemeni resistance has also launched several drone and missile attacks on Israeli targets, particularly the southern-occupied city of Eilat.
Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Yahya Saree announced on 9 December that Yemen will prevent the passage of any ship headed for Israel in the Red and Arabian seas if food and medicine do not enter the Gaza Strip.
Information Minister in the Sanaa government, Daifallah al-Shami, confirmed the Yemeni decision to Al-Mayadeen on Saturday, saying: “We cannot allow ships to transport medicine and food to the occupation while our people in Palestine are prohibited from doing so.”
According to a recent report citing US officials, Washington has told Tel Aviv not to respond to Yemeni attacks in order not to expand the already growing regional conflict in West Asia.
However, Israel’s Channel 12 outlet cited an Israeli official as saying that the country has told Washington it will take military action against Ansarallah if the international community “does not act.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that the US and its allies, including Israel, were considering establishing a naval task force aimed at protecting Israeli shipping from the Yemeni maritime threat.
A source in Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-appointed government – the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) – revealed to Sputnik that his administration has been invited to participate in an international naval force aimed at confronting Ansarallah.
“The Yemeni government intends to participate, with a formation of its naval forces and coast guard, in a multinational operations force to protect navigation in the Red Sea,” the source said.
“The Yemeni Command Council received assurances that the Yemeni naval forces would be provided with two artillery boats and fast patrol boats to secure the territorial waters from Ansar Allah attacks,” it added.
The source said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE will support the PLC participation in the naval force through a multinational joint operations room.
