Maritime security sources reported that a total of 10 people have been rescued so far, including eight Filipinos, an Indian, and a Greek security guard. Eleven others remain missing, amid allegations that the Houthis are holding several crew members captive.
The Eternity Sea, which was sailing in international waters near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, was attacked by unmanned boats and missiles fired from speedboats, forcing the crew to jump into the sea on Tuesday morning.
Four people are believed to have been killed in the attack, the first confirmed deaths in a series of attacks targeting shipping since last June.
In this context, the US mission in Yemen accused the Houthi group of detaining survivors from the crew, calling for their immediate release. The group announced that it had provided medical care to some crew members and transferred them to a "safe location."
On Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the group's forces "targeted the ship (ETERNITY C) as it was heading to the port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) in occupied Palestine (Israel) with an unmanned boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles." The spokesman added in a video statement that the operation led to "the complete sinking of the ship."
For his part, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi confirmed in a televised speech on Thursday that the group's decision to ban Israeli goods from transiting through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea "remains in effect."
He stressed that "the ban has never been suspended or revoked. It is still in effect. Monitoring has been ongoing. What has emerged is the violation by some companies." He added that any breach "will be met with a response" as long as the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues.
The Houthi leader announced that the group's recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea came in response to an attempt by companies to reopen the Israeli port of Eilat, which violated the ban on access to Israeli ports.
Al-Houthi pointed out that "what happened in the Red Sea is a clear lesson to all shipping companies operating on behalf of the Israeli enemy: they will be dealt with firmly, and no company will be allowed to transport goods for the Israeli enemy through the declared theater of operations."
This week, the Yemeni Houthi group announced the targeting and sinking of the ships "Eternity Sea" and "Magic Seas" in the Red Sea, claiming they were headed to Israeli ports. The two ships, which fly the Liberian flag and are operated by two Greek companies, resulted in deaths and injuries among the crew.
These attacks come in the context of the Houthis' rejection of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. They have repeatedly announced their intention to target Israeli ships or those heading to Israeli ports, in what they describe as a "response to the ongoing aggression."
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt the offensive. The genocide has left more than 195,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
