NYN | News
Sana’a continues to impose a tightened blockade on Israel-linked maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported a new incident on Thursday, revealing that the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) had seized a commercial vessel after opening fire on it near the Yemeni port of Mokha. The event marks a further escalation in the series of maritime attacks targeting Israeli-linked shipping since the start of the war on Gaza.
According to converging maritime and media sources, the ship was intercepted roughly 20 nautical miles off the coast near areas controlled by UAE-backed forces loyal to Tareq Saleh, around the Mokha region. Naval forces affiliated with the Sana’a-based government reportedly took full control of the vessel and towed it to an undisclosed location.
Preliminary assessments indicate that the ship was en route to transit the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, part of a maritime corridor that has witnessed repeated attacks in recent months on vessels either owned by or operating with ties to Israel. Sana’a has described these actions as part of a “strategic battle in support of Gaza.”
While the Sana’a government has not yet officially released details about the operation, field sources confirmed that the vessel had connections to the Israeli entity—falling within the criteria of naval targets pursued by Yemen’s forces.
