Bab el-Mandeb Strait
On Wednesday, the United States and twelve of its allies effectively sent the Houthi rebels a final warning to stop attacking Red Sea vessels or risk possible targeted military action. Since December 19, the militants stationed in Yemen have launched at least 23 strikes in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Senior Biden administration officials emphasized that the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, should “not anticipate another warning” from the US and its partners, but they declined to go into specifics about possible effects of them engaging into such activities.
Speaking under White House ground rules, the official spoke on condition of anonymity shortly after the nations released a unified statement earlier on Wednesday denouncing the attacks and highlighting the strain on international forbearance.
What all countries are part of this
Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom all signed the statement. Before a related development, the US cautioned Iran, the Houthis’ main sponsor, that it must decide whether to continue backing the rebels or take action against them on Wednesday before the UN Security Council.
“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the countries said. “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”
Bab el-Mandeb Strait becoming the target
The Houthis have been claiming attacks on ships in the Red Sea for weeks, claiming that the ships are either bound for Israeli ports or have ties to Israel. They claim that their attacks are intended to put a stop to the Israeli air and military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which was set off by the attack in southern Israel on October 7 by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Still, as the strikes go on, the connections to the ships that the rebels are attacking become increasingly shaky.
Since Hamas’s October 7 strike and Israel’s ensuing war against the militant group in Gaza, the attacks have targeted commercial cargo boats passing through the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects markets in Asia and Europe.
In order to safeguard shipping, the United States and its allies established Operation Prosperity Guardian, and as of right now, warships from the US, France, and the UK are circling the region. After the Houthi rebels stormed a cargo ship in the Red Sea on Sunday, US helicopters opened fire on them, killing multiple of them.
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