Yemeni military reiterates warning to Israeli-linked ships not to pass through the Red Sea after claiming to have sunk 2 ships that violated the blockade

The Yemeni military warned Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea not to violate the country’s ban on using the waters within the forces’ range to travel to the ports of the occupied Palestinian territories after it successfully targeted two ships in the past few days.

On June 15, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said, “The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all companies of the consequences of dealing with the Israeli enemy and the arrival of their ships to the ports of occupied Palestine. They (the vessels) will be targeted in the area of operations of the Armed Forces,” he asserted.

The warning came after the country’s military launched strikes with missiles and drones on two commercial ships, the cargo ship Verbena and the bulk carrier Tutor. “The ship Verbena sinks in the Gulf of Aden after being targeted by many missiles,” Saree said on Saturday. “The ship Tutor, which was targeted by a naval drone and several ballistic missiles and drones, is at risk of sinking in the coming hours.” On June 19, the Liberian-flagged Greek-owned ship finally sank. (Related: Yemen’s Houthis attack bulk carrier in Red Sea with suicide drone boat – first time in this conflict.)

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the attack killed “a crew member who hailed from the Philippines.” The Philippines has yet to acknowledge the death, but the man who had been aboard the Tutor has been missing for over a week in the Red Sea.

The armed forces of Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government have targeted Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea near Yemen’s coast since November while the ban has been rolled out since Oct. 7, as soon as Israel retaliated against Hamas and launched massive genocidal operations in Gaza. At least 37,296 Palestinians have been killed to date, most of them women and children and another 85,197 individuals have sustained injuries as a result of the war so far.

Saree added that his nation vows that their forces would keep up their operations as long as the Israeli regime sustains the war and retains a crippling siege that the regime has been simultaneously enforcing against the beleaguered enclave. “These operations are dedicated by our Yemeni armed forces to our mujahideen brothers in Gaza for their steadfastness and jihad, may God protect them and all the free people of the Palestinian people on the occasion of the blessed Eid Al-Adha. Victory is only from God,” Saree added.

In retaliation, the United States and United Kingdom navy troops have been carrying out airstrikes against Yemen’s armed forces and have sought to protect Israeli-linked commercial ships with their missile defenses.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated MV Verbena has also been on fire since Thursday when two missiles struck it. The crew abandoned the ship on Saturday after failing to contain the blaze and were rescued by another commercial vessel, the MV Anna Meta.

As per the U.S. CENTCOM, the Iranian warship IRIN Jamaran failed to respond to the Verbana’s distress call. CENTCOM claimed the Iranian ship was only 14 kilometers away when the distress signal was sent. “This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis [Ansarallah] threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Centcom will continue to act with partners to hold the Houthis accountable and degrade their military capabilities,” a CENTCOM statement issued on June 16 read.

U.S. intel claims a 90% decline in shipping through Red Sea due to Houthi attacks

The U.S. Defense Intelli