ALBAWABA - Houthis Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said on Monday that all vessels crossing the Yemeni waters will have to obtain special permits from the Maritime Affairs Authority.
US-UK launch airstrikes on Sa'dah-Yemen; Houthis strike Israeli and US vessels in Red and Arab Seas"We are ready to assist requests for permits and identify ships with the Yemeni Navy, and we confirm this is out of concern for their safety," Al-Numair told the Houthis-run television channel, Al-Masirah.
Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said there "is good reason to doubt that the Houthis would stop their assaults on vessels if a ceasefire ends Israel’s major military operations in Gaza".
"They may decide that they like the idea of controlling the amount of shipping going through the Red Sea, and will continue this for an indefinite period of time," Gates said at the TPM24 container shipping conference in Long Beach, California.
HGC Global Communications, based in Hong Kong, reported that at least four undersea communications cables — Asia-Africa-Europe 1, Europe India Gateway, Seacom, and TGN-Gulf — were damaged in the Red Sea last week, but did not specify the cause.
It estimated that the damage had damaged 25% of the data traffic flowing beneath the Red Sea and said in a statement that it had established a plan to redirect traffic.
On Monday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a vessel had been damaged by two explosions 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden, but there were no casualties and the vessel was on its way to its next port of call.
Since mid-November, Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles targeting international commercial shipping vessels in the Gulf of Aden, as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians against Israel's horrific war in Gaza, which has killed over 30,000+ Palestinians.
The near-daily airstrikes have forced companies to take long and expensive detours around southern Africa, raising concerns that Israel's campaign in Gaza will spark a larger confrontation in the Middle East. In retaliation, the United States and Britain bombed Houthi sites.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
