It is only a matter of time before Israel is forced to neutralize the Houthi threat. Whatever deal Trump made with the Houthis to stop them from attacking ships in the Red Sea was doomed from the start. Jihadists are loyal only to the cause of jihad. The Houthis have been emboldened by China, which has been arming them. Also, the group recently made a pact with Al-Shabab that further threatens Red Sea shipping.
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim attack on bulk carrier that is now sinking in the Red Sea,” Associated Press, July 7, 2025:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel’s military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who responded with missile fire targeting Israel.
The strikes came after the Houthis attacked a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. On Monday afternoon, the claimed the attack, which saw missiles and explosive-carrying drone boats set the vessel ablaze in the Red Sea.
The Magic Seas attack raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.
The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic…..
“Air strikes targeted ‘Israeli’ ship that became symbol of Houthis and a vehicle for terror,” YNet News, July 7, 2025:
The rare IDF strike in Yemen overnight between Sunday and Monday involved approximately 50 missiles and bombs, targeting, among other things, the cargo ship Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by the Houthis in November 2023. The freighter, reportedly owned by Israeli businessman Rami Ungar, has since become a “symbol” of the Houthis in the Red Sea and has been used for terrorist activities in the region.
The Houthis, agents of the Iranian ayatollah regime in Yemen, seized the ship about six weeks after Operation Swords of Iron began, citing “Israel’s aggression against the Gaza Strip.” Since then, the “Israeli” vessel has become a tourist attraction. The IDF stated that “Houthi terrorist forces installed radar systems on the ship and use it to track vessels in international waters to advance Houthi terror activity.”…
Taffy says
The U.S. has a major interest in free shipping on the high seas. At some point Trump needs to send a carrier group (or two) back to the Arabian Sea and target the Houthi strongholds, ammunition dumps and missile storage facilities.
The U.S. has the capability to observe Yemen with thermal cameras and then bomb the places that show anomalies in the thermal signature. Destroying electric generating plants that serve the Houthis would also be a worthwhile target. Those Houthis will be a brave and haughty bunch until the bombs start falling near their leadership.
OLD GUY says
The Houthis had the chance to end it. They started it back up, nows when we should end them.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Why did they target a Liberian ship? Is Liberia a vassal of Israel?
Taffy says
The ship was owned by an Israeli company but flagged in Liberia. Due to very favorable economic reasons, an extremely large percentage of ships are flagged in Liberia, notwithstanding the actual country of their ownership. Flagging a ship in Liberia is done for similar reasons that many people choose to incorporate in Delaware no matter what state the corporation actually has a physical presence.
Most ships are either flagged in Panama or Liberia. Liberia has no corporate tax for vessels flagged there and they have low registration fees. Also, they have almost nonexistent safety requirements, no minimum wage requirements, and other pesky regulations, so US owned vessels flagged in Liberia can hire foreign crews and pay market rate for labor and not minimum wage.
Also, registration used to be handled by efficient foreign offices and now it is online. This makes it easy to get one’s ship registered right away with a worldwide accepted, international registration. Finally, Liberia’s maritime law and regulations existed since 1948, and heavily favor the ship owner.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Thanks for the explanation, Taffy