Red Sea crisis

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Red Sea crisis
Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) and the Yemeni crisis
Map of Houthi activity near the Yemeni coast:   Houthi-controlled Yemen (SPC)   Government of Yemen (PLC)    Houthi attacks (red) and hijackings (blue)
Date 19 October 2023 – present (1 year, 1 month and 5 days) Location Red Sea, Gulf of Aden (esp. Bab-el-Mandeb), Arabian Sea, Mediterranean Sea,[d] Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Yemen Status Ongoing Port of Eilat bankruption[8] Disruption of international maritime trade and supply chain Beginning of Operation Sankalp on 14 December 2023 Beginning of Operation Prosperity Guardian on 18 December 2023 Missile strikes against Houthi-controlled territory started in January 2024 Beginning of Operation Aspides on 19 February 2024
Belligerents
Yemen (SPC)[a]  Houthi movement Axis of Resistance  Iran[b]  Hezbollah[3] Islamic Resistance in Iraq[4]	Israel Prosperity Guardian:  United States  United Kingdom  Australia  Bahrain  Canada  Denmark  New Zealand  Norway  Seychelles  Singapore  Sri Lanka[5]  Aspides:  European Union  Belgium  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Italy  Netherlands  Sweden Independent Patrols:  China[6]  Egypt[c]  India  Pakistan  Saudi Arabia[c]
Commanders and leaders
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi   Mohamed al-Atifi   Mahdi al-Mashat   Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour	Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Katz Herzi Halevi Joe Biden Lloyd Austin Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer
Units involved
See order of battle
Strength
Yemeni Armed Forces (SPC) 1 Alvand-class frigate 1 Intel ship	Naval assets: 2 Sa'ar 6-class corvettes[9][10] 1 Sa'ar 5-class corvette[11] 1 Nimitz-class aircraft carrier 1 Ticonderoga-class cruiser 1 Ohio-class submarine 6 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 1 Wasp-class amphibious assault ship[12] 2 FREMM multipurpose frigates[13][14] 1 Horizon-class frigate 2 Orizzonte-class destroyer 2 FREMM multipurpose frigates[15] 2 Type 45 destroyers[16] 2 Type 23 frigates[17] 1 Sachsen-class frigate 1 Karel Doorman-class frigate 2 Hydra-class frigates [18] 1 Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate 1 De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate 1 Hamilton-class patrol boat 3 Kolkata-class destroyers[19] 2 Visakhapatnam-class destroyers 2 Talwar-class frigates 2 Tughril-class frigates[20][21] 2 Zulfiquar-class frigates[22] 1 Yarmook-class corvette[23] 1 Luyang III-class destroyer 1 Jiangkai II-class frigate[24]
Casualties and losses
Per Houthis:   73 killed[25]   181 injured Per Sky News Arabia & PLC-led government:   136+ killed[e] 14 detained[29]	3 declared dead[f] 12 MQ-9 Reapers shotdown (per Houthis),[32][33] Undisclosed per US.[34] 2 soldiers killed, 24 wounded[35]
1 Vietnamese, 3 Filipino sailors killed and 8 injured[g] 1 Israeli civilian killed and 39 others injured 6 Egyptian civilians wounded 1 Yemeni civilian killed and 8 others injured,[44] 16 Yemeni civilians killed and 35 injured on 30 May, 14 Yemeni civilians killed and 90 injured on 20 July, 6 Yemeni civilians killed and 57 injured on 29 September
Two ships have been hijacked by Houthi militants; one ship and 25 crew members remain in Houthi custody, while one ship has been released. At least 30 ships have been damaged by Houthi attacks. One UK-owned and one Greek-owned cargo ship sunk.[45][46]

The Red Sea crisis^[47][48] began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip.^[49][50] The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces.^[51] The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.^[52]

The Houthi movement's militants, who oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, have since 2014 controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea. Shortly after the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, the Hamas-allied group began to launch missiles and drones at Israel. Houthi militants have also fired on various countries' merchant vessels in the Red Sea, and particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb—the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal of Egypt and therefore a chokepoint of the global economy. The group has declared that they will not stop until Israel ceases its war on Hamas.^[49][53]

The Houthis says they consider any Israel-linked ship as a target,^[54][47][48] including US and UK warships, but they have also indiscriminately attacked the ships of many nations.^[55][56] From October 2023 to March 2024, the Houthis attacked more than 60 vessels in the Red Sea.^[57] To avoid attack, hundreds of commercial vessels have been rerouted to sail around South Africa.^[58]

The Houthis' Red Sea attacks have drawn a military response from a number of countries. In January 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, condemning the Houthi attacks and affirming freedom of navigation.^[57] The United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched to protect Red Sea shipping. Since 12 January, the US and UK have led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently patrolling the waters near Yemen, attacking Houthi vessels in the Red Sea.^[59] Undaunted, in May, Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said, "We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach".^[60]

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