Houthis claim drone strikes on Haifa port in a joint operation.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have asserted carrying out drone attacks on Israel’s northern Haifa port in a joint military offensive with an Iraqi militant group.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree announced the news in a televised statement on Sunday. As per him, the precision strikes targeted two cement tankers and two cargo ships at the port on Saturday.
Saree alleged the targeted vessels belonged to companies violating the rebel group’s ban on entering Palestine’s occupied ports. However, the Israeli military has yet to confirm the incident.
In early June too, the Houthis had claimed a similar attack on Haifa which Israel then denied. This time as well, witnesses from port companies said operations remained normal, contradicting the Houthi version.
The spokesman further stated the rebels, as a show of Palestinian solidarity, used drones to disrupt Mediterranean shipping in the Shorthorn Express attack.
Over the past months, the Iran-backed insurgents have sunk at least two ships, commandeered one, and killed three seafarers in scores of assaults aimed at international waterways.
With attacks multiplying, security analysts are keeping a close watch on the Houthis’ expanding cross-border offensive capabilities and their impact on maritime trade routes. Israel meanwhile maintains a stance of not commenting on foreign reports.
