Houthi attack forces crew to abandon cargo ship in Gulf of Aden.

The crew of a Red Sea cargo ship was forced to abandon ship after it was attacked on Monday by Yemen's Houthi militia, which has fired missiles at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. a campaign to pressure Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

The attack on the ship, the Rubymar, appeared to be one of the Houthis' most successful so far. Most of the armed group's missile and drone attacks on ships have not caused serious damage.

But Monday evening's attack, which involved two anti-ship missiles launched from Yemen between 9:30 and 10:45 p.m., was enough to drive the ship's crew off, according to the U.S. military. The military's Central Command said one of the missiles struck the Rubymar, “causing damage” and prompting the crew to make a distress call.

A warship part of a US-led coalition, as well as another merchant ship, responded to the call and the crew was “taken by the merchant ship to a nearby port,” Central Command said in a statement.

A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement on Monday that the militia had fired “a number of missiles” at the ship, severely damaging it, bringing it “to a complete standstill” and putting it “in danger of sinking. The New York Times could not verify these claims.

An employee who answered the phone at Rubymar's management office in Lebanon, GMZ Ship Management, confirmed that the attack had occurred and that the crew had abandoned ship, but said the company would not provide any further information until the crew has a safe haven reaches.

A British government maritime agency also reported that a ship about 30 nautical miles south of al-Mokha in Yemen had been attacked, prompting the crew to abandon it. The agency has not identified the ship.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed militia that controls much of northwestern Yemen, have carried out dozens of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent months, portraying the attacks as a campaign to pressure Israel to put an end to his terrorist attacks. siege of Gaza.

Initially they said they were attacking ships owned by Israelis or sailing to and from Israeli ports, but they also targeted ships unrelated to Israel heading to other destinations. In early January, the United States and Britain formed a military coalition to carry out airstrikes in Yemen in an effort to deter the attacks, and the Houthis have since vowed to target American and British ships as well.

The Rubymar flies the flag of Belize, but its registered owner is based in Britain, according to Equasis, a maritime database.

Mr. Sarea, the Houthis' military spokesman, said the Houthis “will not hesitate to take more military measures” against “all hostile targets in defense of the beloved Yemen and to reaffirm the position of support for the Palestinian people.”

While most of the group's attacks have caused limited damage, they have still roiled global shipping. Yemen overlooks the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping route leading to the Suez Canal. Hundreds of ships are now bypassing the Suez Canal and sailing an extra 6,000 kilometers around Africa, burning fuel, driving up costs and adding about ten days of travel in each direction.

The US-led coalition has repeatedly struck missiles and launchers in Yemen and intercepted drones and missiles, but has so far failed to stop the attacks. The United States attacked five Houthi targets this weekend, including an underwater drone.

Monday the European Union announced that it launched its own operation to counter the threat from the Houthis, with plans to escort and protect ships from attacks in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and nearby waterways.

“The European Union is responding rapidly to the need to restore maritime security and freedom of navigation in a highly strategic maritime corridor,” Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.