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Vice Admiral George Wikoff, Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has admitted that the United States has failed to stop the attacks launched by the forces of the Sana’a government on Israeli shipping and American and British vessels in the Red Sea.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Wikoff stated: “We have certainly degraded the Houthis’ capabilities, there is no doubt about that. But have we stopped them? No.” He cited several recent attacks by Sana’a forces on ships associated with “Israel,” noting that this only seems to “strengthen the Houthis’ desire to terrorize maritime shipping” in the Middle East.
Wikoff emphasized that the U.S. Navy’s mission remains to reduce these capabilities and maintain some semblance of order at sea. According to him, the instability in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is due to the actions of the “Houthis,” adding, “They can stop this at any time.”
Since late last year, Sana’a government forces have begun targeting Israeli objectives in the occupied Palestinian territories and attacking Israeli-linked ships in the Red and Arabian Seas, eventually extending their operations to parts of the Indian Ocean. Recently, they announced the beginning of the fourth phase of escalation against ships “even into the Mediterranean” in support of Palestinians in Gaza. They affirm that their operations against “Israel” will continue, demanding the “end of the aggression and the lifting of the siege on Gaza” as conditions for halting their military actions “in support of Gaza.”
In response, the U.S. and Britain have launched airstrikes on Yemen, prompting the Sana’a government forces to declare that their operations would include targeting American and British commercial and military vessels in retaliation for what they termed the “American-British aggression.”
On February 19, 2024, the European Union announced the launch of a military operation named “Aspis,” led by Italy in the Red Sea, while the United States announced the launch of an operation named “Guardian of Prosperity,” both aimed at countering the attacks by Sana’a government forces against “Israel.”
Source: RT
