DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday claimed a strike on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden in the first such attack since Israel struck the rebel-controlled Hodeida port last month.

“The naval and missile units in the Yemeni armed forces carried out a joint military operation in which they targeted the ship Groton in the Gulf of Aden with several ballistic missiles,” said Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree in a statement.

The vessel was targeted “because the company that owns the ship decided to violate the ban on entry to ports of occupied Palestine”, he added.

British maritime security agency UKMTO and maritime security firm Ambrey said the Liberian-flagged Groton was struck twice by missiles near the coast of Aden.

The second hit caused “minor damage”, the United Kingdom Maritime trade Operations run by the British navy said in a statement. “All of the ship’s crew are safe (no injuries were reported). It was reported that the ship was rerouted to a nearby port,” it added.

Also reporting two strikes, Ambrey said “one of them may have caused a fire to break out on board” but no injuries among the ship’s crew.

It is the first attack claimed by the Houthis since Israel carried out strikes on Hodeida on July 20, which came in response to a drone strike by the Yemeni rebels which killed one person in Tel Aviv.

Since November, Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea they say are linked to Israel, saying this is in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have attacked at least 88 commercial ships, according to the Washington Institute fro Near East Policy.

In an attempt to halt the attacks, American and British forces have carried out strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen since January 12.

The US military occasionally unilaterally strikes missiles and drones which it says are preparing to launch.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024