The authority said in a statement: "We received a report of an accident occurring 40 nautical miles southwest of Yanbu, in the Medina region of Saudi Arabia."
She explained that "the captain of a ship (whose identity was not specified) reported that fragments of an unknown missile were scattered near his ship, and that a loud explosion was heard."
According to the British authority, "the ship and its crew were reported safe," but it did not identify the party that carried out the attack, nor did any party claim responsibility for the incident.
In recent months, the frequency of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea has decreased, but this incident suggests a possible resurgence in the near future, particularly given the group's assertion that it will continue to ban Israeli ships from crossing the Red Sea "until it ends its war of extermination in the Gaza Strip."
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This incident comes a day after the Houthi group announced the death of its prime minister (not internationally recognized), Ahmed al-Rahwi, and a number of his ministers in an Israeli attack on Sanaa on Thursday. Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi responded to this in a videotaped speech, vowing to continue escalating the conflict against Israel.
The Houthis are launching missile and drone attacks on Israel, and targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea. They claim this is in response to the genocidal war they have been waging, with US support, on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
This genocide left 63,459 Palestinians martyred, 160,256 Palestinians injured, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that killed 339 Palestinians, including 124 children.
