A supporter of the Houthi group carries a fake missile during a march on the occasion of "Jerusalem Day" in Sanaa (European)
The European Union's ASPEDS naval mission in the southern Red Sea announced on Saturday that it had intercepted a missile launched by the Houthi group, protecting commercial ships.
The mission explained in a press release that the German frigate "Hessen" thwarted a missile attack launched from Houthi-controlled areas. "The measure implemented by Hessen was effective and prevented damage to sailors and merchant ships," she said.
The Aspids were launched last February to help protect the main trade route through the Red Sea from drone and missile attacks launched by the Houthi group from Yemen, which says its attacks are in response to the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier Saturday, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said that it had received a report of an incident 60 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah in Yemen, and the ship’s captain reported that two missiles had been fired near the ship.
The authority added that the coalition forces intercepted the first missile, while the second missile collided with the water at a distance from the ship, without the ship reporting any damage, and the crew was reported safe.
In solidarity with Gaza, which is facing a devastating Israeli war with American support, the Houthis targeted, with missiles and drones, Israeli cargo ships or those linked to them in the Red Sea, stressing their determination to continue their operations until the war on the Strip ends.
Since the beginning of this year, the Washington-led coalition has launched raids that it says target Houthi sites in various regions of Yemen, in response to their attacks in the Red Sea, which was met with a response from the group from time to time.
With the intervention of Washington and London and the tensions taking a noticeable escalation last January, the Houthi group announced that it now considered all American and British ships among its military targets.
Source: Agencies