DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed an attack on a merchant ship in the Red Sea, part of an ongoing campaign they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians.
The Houthis, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition after ousting the government from Sanaa in 2014, have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.
They have said they are harassing the vital trade route in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Wednesday, the rebels said they had carried out a “military operation targeting the Tutor ship in the Red Sea, using a naval drone, aerial drones and ballistic missiles.”
The ship was hit about 68 nautical miles (126 kilometers) southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, maritime security firm Ambrey had said earlier in the day.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said a vessel was “hit on the stern by a small craft” 66 nautical miles southwest of Hodeida.
In a statement, UKMTO said the ship was taking on water and not under the crew’s command.
It added that the vessel was “hit for a second time by an unknown airborne projectile” and that military authorities were assisting.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) later said the Tutor had been struck by a Houthi “unmanned surface vessel” that “caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room.”
CENTCOM — which along with British forces has been conducting strikes in rebel-held Yemen in retaliation for the Red Sea attacks — also said it had destroyed three anti-ship missile launchers and a Houthi drone over the past 24 hours.
Houthis claim attack on merchant ship in Red Sea off Yemen
https://arab.news/g2fzk
Houthis claim attack on merchant ship in Red Sea off Yemen
Family of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
- Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions.
Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, becoming at least the sixth American citizen to die in incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers in the territory in the past two years.
Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community. Witnesses said that stones were thrown by both sides before settlers opened fire, wounding at least three villagers.
Abu Siyam was struck and later died of his injuries.
Abdulhamid Siyam, the victim’s cousin, said the killing reflected a wider pattern of impunity.
“A young man of 19 shot and killed in cold blood, and no responsibility,” he told the BBC. “Impunity completely.”
The US State Department said that it was aware of the death of a US citizen and was “carefully monitoring the situation,” while the Trump administration said that it stood ready to provide consular assistance.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the incident was under review and that an operational inquiry “must be completed as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said troops were deployed to the scene and used “riot dispersal means to restore order,” adding that no IDF gunfire was reported.
The military confirmed that the incident remained under review and said that a continued presence would be maintained in the area to prevent further unrest.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such reviews rarely lead to criminal accountability, arguing that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers accused of violence.
A US embassy spokesperson later said that Washington “condemns this violence,” as international concern continues to grow over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to investigate or prosecute settlers accused of violence against civilians.
Those concerns were echoed this week by the UN, which warned that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank may amount to ethnic cleansing.
A UN human rights office report on Thursday said that Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks and military operations have increasingly displaced Palestinian communities, with dozens of villages reportedly emptied since the start of the Gaza war.
The report also criticized Israeli military tactics in the northern West Bank, saying that they resembled warfare and led to mass displacement, while noting abuses by Palestinian security forces, including the use of unnecessary lethal force and the intimidation of critics.
Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor the Palestinian Authority has commented on the findings.
