Rise in Red Sea attacks by Yemen's Houthis 'linked to Gaza ceasefire'

US military describe missile and drone strikes as 'reckless acts of terrorism'

The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burning in the Red Sea on September 2 following attacks by the Houthis. AP

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Yemen's Houthi rebels have escalated their attacks on international shipping, targeting tankers and vessels in recent days and claiming that their assaults are intended to put pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza.

The Iran-backed rebels have attacked more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza began in October. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in their campaign, killing four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or have failed to reach their targets.

But in recent days, the heavily armed militia stepped up the attacks and targeted several vessels carrying oil.

"Houthis are clearly monitoring the course of the ceasefire talks in Gaza, and based on the results and Israel's attempts to prevent a deal, they have moved towards raising the level of escalation," a Yemeni political source told The National.

Talks in Doha and Cairo have failed to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but are now focused on new proposals put forward by the US to overcome differences between both parties.

Meanwhile, public anger and pressure continue to build against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, widely seen as the main obstacle to a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would bring home around 100 hostages still in the devastated Palestinian enclave after almost a year of war.

"Houthis see the pressure and are adding to it. They think that this is the right time for a ceasefire as Hamas's military position seems to be becoming weaker day after day," explained a second Yemeni political source.

"The aim of our attacks is clear: to pressure the Israeli enemy and the United States to stop the aggression on Gaza and lift the siege," stressed a source close to the Houthis.

A Houthi supporter holds up a mock drone with a Palestinian flag, during an anti-US and Israel protest in Sanaa, Yemen, on August 30. EPA

However, the increase in attacks comes at a particularly notable time.

Weeks of back-channel negotiations involving Iran played a crucial role in preventing a wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, despite last month's scenes of rockets and drones over Israel and Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah continued their daily exchanges since then, but the tension appeared to ease.

Sources in Cairo, Beirut and other regional capitals told The National that Arab mediators in the Gaza ceasefire talks have been increasing their exchanges with Tehran throughout the negotiations, keeping them updated on milestones. The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran accelerated the exchanges and led to a proposal: minimal retaliation, at least for the time being, in return for more ceasefire influence.

As the situation at the Lebanese-Israeli border calmed, the Houthi attacks heated up.

"It's very likely that the Iranians are trying to increase the pressure on the US and Israel through the Houthis, after they seem to have agreed to de-escalate the Lebanese front," said the second Yemeni political source.

Much like Hezbollah in Lebanon and other armed groups in Syria and Iraq, the Houthis are part of the Axis of Resistance, an anti-western political and military coalition led by Tehran.

Since the outbreak of Israel's war in Gaza in October, the Yemeni rebels, who control Sanaa and territories in the north and west, launched dozens of attacks on international shipping in the strategic waters off Yemen. Their attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

This emergence as an unexpected threat to Israel and a strategic shipping route prompted retaliatory strikes by the US and Britain since February. Washington also designated the militia that seized control of Yemen's capital in late 2014 as a “terrorist group”.

The Yemeni rebels dismissed incentives proposed by the United States to curb their attacks in the Red Sea, Yemeni political sources told The National in April.

Late on Monday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking the Panama-flagged Blue Lagoon I with several missiles and drones. The US military confirmed the attack, claiming that the group had also struck the Saudi-flagged Amjad in the Red Sea. The US Central Command said they used two ballistic missiles and a one-way attack unmanned aerial system to hit both vessels that were laden with crude oil, with the Amjad carrying about two million barrels. It described the attacks as "reckless acts of terrorism by the Houthis".

However, on Tuesday, Saudi shipping company Bahri denied that its tanker had been attacked in the Red Sea.

In recent months, the Blue Lagoon I travelled to India, which gets more than 40 per cent of its oil imports from Russia despite Moscow's war on Ukraine and the international sanctions it faces over it. The Greek-based company operating the ship could not be reached. The Joint Maritime Information Centre said it assessed that the ship “was targeted due to other vessels within its company structure making recent port calls in Israel”.

Meanwhile, the US military said a rescue mission was under way for an oil tanker still ablaze after a Houthi attack off the coast of Yemen last month.

The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was carrying about one million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked it on August 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel, and took them to nearby Djibouti.

The US Central Command said the ship was “still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster”. The Houthis allowed it to be towed after several international requests.

In response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the US military said on Tuesday that its forces destroyed two missile systems in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen in the past 24 hours. The systems “presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region”, it added.

“The Houthis’ failure to make the Red Sea impassable has resorted to them attempting to conduct more high profile attacks, such as detonating explosive charges on an oil tanker, which could potentially cause 150,000 tonnes of oil to spill into the Red Sea," said Nick Loxton, intelligence delivery and innovation manager at Roke Intelligence.

"The resulting environmental disaster would resonate significantly with a western audience, bringing the Houthi’s cause back into mainstream current debate and, in turn, increasing the pressure for a settlement in the Israel-Gaza conflict," added the expert.

“Such an attack is a textbook insurgent ‘asymmetric’ act, hoping to provoke a hasty reaction from western forces which in turn can be exploited within the information warfare domain to the Houthis and Iran’s advantage.”