Houthi Rebels Attack Another  07/08 06:35

   Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an hours-long attack Tuesday targeting a 
Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group 
claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew 
combat across the vital waterway.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an 
hours-long attack Tuesday targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red 
Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in 
an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway.

   The Greek-owned Eternity C remains "surrounded by small craft and is under 
continuous attack," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center warned 
Tuesday. At least two people on board the ship were reported to be hurt and two 
others missing.

   The bulk carrier had been heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came 
under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones Monday night. The 
security guards on board also fired their weapons. The European Union 
anti-piracy patrol Operation Atalanta and the private security firm Ambrey both 
reported those details.

   While the Houthis haven't claimed the attack, Yemen's exiled government and 
the EU force blamed the rebels for the attack.

   The Houthis separately attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk 
carrier Magic Seas on Sunday with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades 
and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The rebels 
later said it sank in the Red Sea.

   The two attacks and a round of Israeli airstrikes early Monday targeting the 
rebels raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could 
again draw in U.S. and Western forces, particularly after U.S. President Donald 
Trump's administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.

   The attacks come at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible 
ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs 
whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American 
airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during the Israel-Iran war 
in June.

   The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against 
commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has 
described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza 
Strip.

   Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 
merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four 
sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red 
Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it 
annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has 
increased in recent weeks.

   The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against 
the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis hadn't attacked 
a vessel until this weekend, though they did continue occasional missile 
attacks targeting Israel.