Surge in Red Sea attacks after months of calm potentially signals revival of Houthis’ campaign over Gaza war.
Five crew members have been rescued from a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea after a suspected attack from Yemen’s Houthi group, according to a maritime monitor. The attack is so far known to have killed at least three sailors out of the 22-member crew and wounded two.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO), run by the British military, said on Wednesday that “search and rescue operations commenced overnight” after Monday’s attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C.
UKMTO had said on Tuesday that the ship sustained “significant damage” and “lost all propulsion”. UK-based security firm Ambrey told the AFP news agency that the badly damaged vessel had sunk off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Houthis.
20250708-UKMTO_WARNING_INCIDENT_027-25-UPDATE 003https://t.co/yo0ifPJbtT#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/7VTJBPT8Tt
— UKMTO Ops Centre (@UK_MTO) July 9, 2025
The Houthis, who say they are targeting Israel-linked ships as part of a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians under relentless Israeli fire, to pressure the Israeli military to end its assault on Gaza, have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
However, it came one day after they claimed responsibility for attacking another cargo ship – the Magic Seas – in the Red Sea, causing it to sink. All the crew were rescued.
The assaults mark the first attacks on shipping in the Red Sea since late 2024, potentially signalling the start of a new armed campaign threatening the waterway, which had begun to see more traffic in recent weeks.
After Sunday’s attack on the Magic Seas, the Houthis declared that ships owned by companies with ties to Israel were a “legitimate target”, pledging to “prevent Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas … until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted”.
Yemen’s exiled government, the European Union’s Operation Aspides military force and the US State Department blamed the rebels for the attack on Eternity C.
“These attacks demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
“The United States has been clear: We will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks,” she added.
The bulk carrier had been heading north towards the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones on Monday night, with security guards on board firing their weapons, according to Operation Aspides and Ambrey, cited by The Associated Press news agency.
Operation Aspides told AFP on Tuesday that three people had been killed, with at least two injured, including “a Russian electrician who lost a leg”.
Authorities in the Philippines told AFP that there were 22 crew on the Eternity C, all but one of them Filipinos.
The Eternity C’s operator, Cosmoship Management, has not commented on casualties or injuries.
In separate incidents, Israel’s military and the Houthis exchanged strikes on Sunday, with Israel saying it had bombed three ports and a power plant in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, prompting the Iran-allied group to fire more missiles towards Israeli territory.
Israel said it struck the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and as-Salif on the Red Sea coast as well as the Ras Kathib power plant.
It said it also struck a radar system on the Galaxy Leader, which was seized by the Houthis and remains docked in the port of Hodeidah.
