The Red Sea has become a flashpoint in the Middle East crisis, amid the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip threatening to spill over into the entire region.
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| A Houthi military helicopter flies over a cargo ship in the Red Sea in November. (Source: Reuters). |
In recent weeks, the Houthi movement in Yemen has repeatedly attacked commercial vessels passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea, in retaliation for Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip and to show solidarity with Hamas, which is in conflict with the Jewish state.
The Houthi actions have disrupted maritime traffic through this vital route, forcing many shipping companies to choose alternative routes around the southern tip of Africa to access the Mediterranean and vice versa.
On the night of December 26, the Houthi movement again claimed to have launched missiles at a commercial vessel belonging to MSC United in the Red Sea after the ship refused to heed three warnings from the Islamist group.
Meanwhile, the French news agency AFP reported that on the same day, the Pentagon announced that the US military had destroyed 12 drones, 3 anti-ship ballistic missiles, and 2 ground-attack missiles fired by the Houthi rebels over the Red Sea in just about 10 hours.
In a social media post, the Pentagon's Central Command stated that there was no damage to ships in the area or any casualties.
According to the Pentagon, since the conflict in Gaza erupted in October, Houthi forces have carried out more than 100 drone and missile attacks targeting 10 commercial vessels belonging to 35 countries traveling in the Red Sea.
In related developments, also on December 26, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Cairo, exchanging views on developments in the Gaza Strip and maritime security in the Red Sea.
In addition, the two diplomats also discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire and the implementation of the key United Nations Security Council resolution calling for unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to Gaza.
According to Shoukry, Egypt is ready to consult and coordinate more closely with Jordan to address common challenges and find solutions to regional security crises.
The Security Council resolution adopted on December 22 calls for the appointment of a UN senior coordinator to facilitate coordination, monitoring and verification of the humanitarian nature of aid deliveries from non-parties to the conflict in Gaza and a mechanism to monitor aid deliveries into the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
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