US-Owned Cargo Ship Hit by Missile Off Yemen Coast
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A US-owned cargo ship, the Gibraltar Eagle, was targeted by an anti-ship ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen.
The incident occurred amidst heightened tensions in the Red Sea, fueled by the US's unwavering support for Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the strike on Monday, revealing that the dry bulk ship suffered damage to its cargo hold.
Eagle Bulk Shipping, the vessel's US-based operator, reported that the ship was hit by an "unidentified projectile" while sailing 100 miles off the Gulf of Aden. No seafarers were injured, and the ship remains stable as it heads out of the area, it said. The cargo ship was transporting steel products at the time of the attack.
Yemeni Armed Forces acknowledged the incident in a statement, stating that they targeted the American ship in the Gulf of Aden using naval missiles. The attack was described as a response to the perceived American-British aggression on Yemen and in support of the oppressed Palestinian people facing Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported the ship being "hit from above by a missile" without providing further details. The vessel was en route to Israeli-occupied territories, with the agency linking the attack to US and UK raids on Yemen the previous week.
Since the start of Israeli aggression on Gaza in October, the US and its Western allies have provided financial and logistical support to the occupying regime. Yemen's Armed Forces and the Anasrullah resistance movement have targeted several Israeli-owned and -bound ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Following US and British warplane strikes on Yemen, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, held the US and UK accountable for the "criminal aggression." Yemenis have expressed open support for Palestine's struggle against the Israeli occupation since the conflict's onset in October.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in significant casualties, with over 24,000 people killed, predominantly women and children. The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a "complete siege" on the territory, causing severe shortages of fuel, electricity, food, and water for the more than two million Palestinians living there.