War in the Middle East: major attack by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea

Shortly before Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s talks in Lebanon, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched one of their largest attacks to date on shipping traffic in the Red Sea.

The responsible US regional command announced on Tuesday evening (local time) that 18 drones and three missiles had been intercepted by US and British units. No injuries or damage were reported, it said. Meanwhile, Israel has confirmed the killing of another Hezbollah militia commander in Lebanon.

The Houthis’ projectiles were fired from Yemeni areas controlled by the rebels into the southern Red Sea in the direction of international shipping routes with dozens of merchant ships, the US regional command said. Since the Gaza war broke out between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships with alleged Israeli connections in the Red Sea. The rebels also repeatedly attack Israel directly with drones and rockets.

Britain’s Defense Secretary Grant Shapps threatened the Houthi rebels with consequences in view of the new attack. The naval ship “HMS Diamond” together with US warships repelled the “biggest attack to date” overnight, Shapps announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter) this morning. Several attack drones that were heading towards the “Diamond” and merchant ships were destroyed.

Hezbollah denies commander’s death

There are concerns that the conflict in Gaza will spread to other countries in the region – especially Lebanon. In the border area with Israel, the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which is also supported by Iran, have increased significantly. Hezbollah is allied with Hamas.

“Today we eliminated the Hezbollah commander of the air unit in southern Lebanon, Ali Hussein Berji, with the help of an aircraft in the north,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday. A Hezbollah spokesman confirmed his death but denied that he was the leader of their drone unit. Just the day before, a Hezbollah commander was killed in the south. According to Israel’s foreign minister, his country was also behind the attack.

Berdji was in a car on the way to the funeral of Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tauil, who was killed in an Israeli attack on Monday, in the town of Kherbet Selem in southern Lebanon when a rocket hit the vehicle, eyewitnesses told the German Press Agency. Israel’s army released a video taken from an aircraft showing a vehicle exploding.

Berji is said to have been in command of dozens of drone attacks on Israel. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Wissam al-Tauil was also responsible for several attacks on Israel.

Israel’s army continues attacks in Khan Yunis

Meanwhile, Israel’s army continues its attacks in the city of Khan Yunis and in the area of ​​the Al-Magasi refugee district in the center of the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops attacked around 150 targets of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas over the past day, the military said. In particular, in Khan Yunis, the largest city in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip, the army says it has taken action against Hamas terrorists and killed dozens.

In Al-Magasi, 15 underground tunnel shafts were also uncovered. During further operations in the area in the center of the Gaza Strip, the troops also discovered rocket launchers, drones and explosive devices, the military said. According to the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees UNRWA, more than 33,000 people live in the refugee district in an area of ​​0.6 square kilometers. The streets are narrow and the population density is high.

More shelling on the Israeli-Lebanese border

There has been renewed mutual shelling on the border between Lebanon and Israel. The Israeli military said it had attacked a military compound in Nakura, in the border area, in the morning after coming under fire from there. It also said that the army had attacked “terrorist infrastructure” and a military compound near Labbouneh in southern Lebanon. Lebanese security sources said that locations in the western part of the Lebanese border area were also targeted.

What is important today

While Foreign Minister Baerbock is holding talks in Lebanon, her party colleague Robert Habeck is visiting Saudi Arabia. The Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs wants to hold talks in the capital Riyadh about the security situation in the region and energy issues. Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the Gaza war.

Israel and the government in Riyadh had recently come closer, a process that did not completely come to a standstill after the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups in Israel on October 7th. Saudi Arabia is also helping to intercept rocket fire by the Houthis on Israel.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Blinken is also continuing his trip to the Middle East. Previous stops have included Israel, Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Blinken now wants to visit the West Bank and Egypt by Thursday.