Houthis Conduct Military Operations in Gulf of Aden, Israel's Eilat

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they had conducted two military operations, one in the Gulf of Aden and one in Eilat at the southern tip of Israel.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the Israeli ship MSC UNIFIC in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles and drones in addition to attacking military targets in Eilat with drones.

The spokesperson said that the latest Houthi military operations came in response to the Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis on Saturday, an attack which claimed the lives of at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Separately, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday that it has "destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) over the Red Sea and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in the Red Sea," as well as "one Houthi UAV in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen."

"It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," U.S. Central Command added.

Since November, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group has been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The group says these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel's war in Gaza.

In dozens of attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.

(Reuters - Reporting By Ahmed Tolba and Mohamed El Gebaly; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Lisa Shumaker)