Suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels hits container ship in first attack in 2 weeks: Report 

A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a container ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said on Sunday, likely the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them, AP reported.  

The resumption in attacks comes following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict. 

The attack on August 3 happened some 225 km (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks previously, according to the AP report. 

A security official on the vessel said a missile struck the vessel, but “no fires, water ingress or oil leaks have been observed” the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said in a statement.  

The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. The rebels have targeted more than 70 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign that have killed four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in the time since. Other missiles and drones have been either intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or splashed down before reaching their targets. 

The Yemen-based outfit claimed that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the US or Britain as part of their campaign to force an end to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war, including some bound for Iran. 

The Houthis also have launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an attack July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida that hit fuel depots and electrical stations, killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels say. 

Since November, Houthi attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion flow of goods passing through the Red Sea corridor, which links Asia and the Middle East onto Europe through the Suez Canal. 

The killing of Haniyeh in Tehran has sparked concerns of a new escalation in the Israel-Hamas war.  

The United States has decided to move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region beefing up the American military presence to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and safeguard US troops.  

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions and is taking steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defense weapons there, AP reported.  

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.  

Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on July 31 shortly after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed.