The EU’s Operation Atalanta naval mission in the southern Red Sea intercepted a missile launched by the Houthis, protecting merchant ships, the mission said in a press release on Saturday.
The mission stated that the German frigate Hessen thwarted a missile attack launched from Houthi-controlled areas.
“The action taken by Hessen was effective and prevented any harm to sailors and merchant ships,” it said.
This comes after the British maritime security firm Ambrey reported on Saturday receiving information about a ship being targeted approximately 61 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah in Yemen.
On Friday, the US Central Command announced the successful destruction of an anti-ship missile in areas controlled by the Houthi group on Yemeni territory.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, said on Thursday that 37 people were killed and 30 others injured in 424 airstrikes and naval bombardments carried out by the United States and Britain over three months.
Al-Houthi did not specify whether this number includes only armed group members or if civilians were among the casualties.
On the other hand, the Houthis claimed to have targeted 90 ships during what they described as “support for Gaza,” which has been experiencing a war between armed Palestinian factions and Israel since October 7th last year.
They added that 34 attacks were launched in one month using 125 ballistic missiles and drones.
Several ships in the Red Sea have been targeted in attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group, which says the attacks are in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping traffic, forcing companies to undertake longer and costlier voyages around the southern tip of Africa.
The United States and Britain have conducted airstrikes on Houthi sites to hinder and weaken the group’s ability to endanger navigation freedom and threaten global trade.
