Yemen's Houthis attacked Red Sea merchant ships and Israeli targets again on the 26th, triggering interceptions by the US and Israeli forces. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sareya said the group fired ** missiles at a merchant ship sailing in the Red Sea because the merchant ship ignored warnings from the Houthis. Separately, the Houthis launched drone attacks on the Israeli Red Sea port city of Eilat and other targets in the south on the same day. Sareya did not say whether the merchant ship and the Israeli target were hit. Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Company said on the same day that its cargo ship "Union 8" was attacked in the Red Sea, and the ship was on its way from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, fortunately there was no crew**, and the company was assessing the condition of the hull.
In addition, the British Office of Maritime Operations announced that a ship had two incidents in the vicinity of Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on the same day. Later, there was another ** sound and missiles in this area, but passing ships did not report damage to the crew** and hull. The U.S. military command said that the U.S. military intercepted 12 drones, three ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles launched by the Houthis within 10 hours, and the passing ships were not damaged. At the same time, the Israeli military announced that it had shot down a "hostile flying object" flying towards Israel over the Red Sea that day. According to Egypt's Cairo News Network, Egyptian forces shot down a drone near Zahaib, a sea area about 125 kilometers from Eilat, Israel.
A witness told AFP that he heard a loud ** sound and then saw an object fall into the sea. Since October 7, Yemen's Houthi rebels have repeatedly used missiles and drones to attack targets in Red Sea waters on the grounds that they support Palestine. The Houthis claim that any vessel owned or operated by an Israeli company, or flying an Israeli flag, will be a "legitimate target" for them. The Red Sea route plays an important role in global shipping, and Houthi attacks have led several international shipping companies to suspend the use of the Red Sea route in favor of a bypass to the southern tip of Africa. On the 19th of this month, the United States announced that it would lead the formation of a multinational force to protect ships passing through the Red Sea from Houthi attacks.
The Houthis, for their part, announced that they would continue to attack any "Israeli vessels". (Hui Xiaoshuang).