(RepublicanReport.org) – Houthi forces recently launched a massive attack on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, putting international commerce at risk. US forces helped to take out 21 drones and missiles targeted at the supply ships, averting the disaster, but the assaults aren’t likely to end anytime soon. Fears of escalations grow as conflicts continue between Israel and Hamas, with multiple countries drawing apparent lines in the sand but no real progress being made to end the fighting.
The assault began at roughly 9:15 a.m. on January 9, according to The Daily Wire. Houthi troops sent several anti-ship cruise missiles and one ballistic missile toward “dozens of merchant vessels.” Four US carriers — SS Mason, USS Gravely, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and USS Laboon — and one UK vessel, the HMS Diamond, deployed F/A-18 combat aircraft to neutralize the threats. No one was reported injured in the strike.
Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald states that the Houthis are a Shiite Islamic group that has Iran’s financial backing. They’ve controlled Yemen since 2014 and adhere to the jihadist belief that Israel is their enemy. The terrorist cell is part of an effort in the Middle East to cut off supply chains to the primarily Jewish country. They’ve sworn to continue fighting against Israel until it declares a cease-fire and ends its assault on Hamas.
The terrorists have been targeting the Red Sea due to its use by Israel to access supplies, some of which may be used to fuel its war against Hamas, which shares allies with the Houthis. The waterway links the Middle East to Europe and Asia and provides a vital hub for trade.
Its narrowest spot, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is only about 18 miles wide, which forces traffic to navigate using only two channels and makes ships easy targets. About one-tenth of all oil that’s traded by sea passes through it, along with about $1 trillion in goods each year.
US forces have been treading carefully in the region, although this most recent attack may have been a test to see how far the White House will go to defend its interests.
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