Houthi Forces Target Commercial Ship “MSC UNITED” with Naval Missiles
Watan-The Houthi group in Yemen announced on Tuesday that it targeted a commercial ship named “MSC UNITED” with naval missiles. The group clarified in a statement released by its military spokesperson, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, that this action is in solidarity with the oppression facing the Palestinian people, who continue to endure killing, destruction, blockade, and starvation at this moment.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree emphasized that the Houthi naval forces executed the targeting operation against the commercial ship “MSC UNITED” using appropriate naval missiles.
بيانٌ صادرٌ عنِ القواتِ المسلحةِ اليمنية
بسمِ اللهِ الرحمنِ الرحيم
قالَ تعالى: { یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوۤا۟ إِن تَنصُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ یَنصُرۡكُمۡ وَیُثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَكُمۡ } صدقَ اللهُ العظيمانتصاراً لمظلوميةِ الشعبِ الفلسطينيِّ الذي يتعرضُ حتى هذه اللحظةِ للقتلِ… pic.twitter.com/cmSblEyz3X
— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) December 26, 2023
The Houthi group targeted a commercial ship, as stated in the announcement
The statement pointed out that the targeting of the ship occurred after its crew rejected, for the third time, calls from the naval forces of the Houthis and repeated warning flares.
According to the same statement, the Houthi armed drones carried out a military operation against military targets in the Umm Al-Rishrash region and other areas in occupied Palestine.
The group, aligned with Iran, emphasized in the statement its continued support for the Palestinian people as part of its religious, ethical, and humanitarian duty.
The statement confirmed the group’s persistence in conducting operations in the Red and Arabian Seas against Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, to ensure the entry of needed food and medicine for the Gaza Strip.
The group reiterated its previous statements confirming the prohibition of the passage of all Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine. The group expressed full commitment to the continuity of maritime navigation to all destinations except the Israeli entity.
UKMTO WARNING 022/DEC/2023 UPDATE 001https://t.co/Z0vTdolDwv#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/GVQvCC1jLH
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 26, 2023
In turn, a Yemeni maritime source stated that the Houthi group targeted the ship “MSC” in the Red Sea to prevent it from heading to Israel.
Earlier on Tuesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported an incident near a ship approximately 60 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, Yemen. It mentioned the explosion of missiles about 4 nautical miles from the ship’s location.
