US Navy Shoots Down Missiles, Kills Houthi Hijackers In Red Sea

By Saeed Al-Batati

US Navy helicopters destroyed three Houthi boats and killed the men aboard when they attempted to kidnap a commercial ship in the Red Sea, the first Houthi deaths by US troops since their Red Sea operations began in November. 

US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said that helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely came to the aid of a commercial ship that was being attacked by four boats carrying armed Houthis on Sunday morning. The helicopters sank three boats, killing their crews, and one escaped after they attempted to shoot down the helicopters after failing to hijack the ship.

“The US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews. The fourth boat fled the area. There was no damage to US personnel or equipment,” the US military said in a statement on social media platform X.

Earlier, CENTCOM reported that the USS Gravely — in response to a request for assistance from the container ship Maersk Hangzhou — shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis from areas under their control in Yemen at commercial ships in the Red Sea, bringing the total of Houthi Red Sea attacks since Nov. 19 to 23.

The Houthis have launched ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones at commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea, threatening to block major trade routes for Israeli-linked or Israel-bound ships.

The Houthis claim that their activities are to help the Palestinians and intended to push Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.

Yemen analysts say that the US Navy ship used force against the Houthis after they violated a red line by firing on US Navy helicopters.

Elisabeth Kendall, Middle East expert and head of Girton College at the University of Cambridge, said that the US Navy is now prepared to repel and destroy Houthi attacks that imperil commercial and navy vessels, in contrast to November, when the Houthis commandeered the Galaxy Leader.

“The Houthis have for weeks been testing the limits of US tolerance and today they found out that the US does have red lines and will react forcefully when they are crossed,” she said.

She added: “The Houthis’ first ship hijacking of the Galaxy Leader in November took the world by surprise. This time, the US was prepared.

“The Houthis overstepped the line by firing on both the ship and the US Navy helicopters, a move which justified the US lethal retaliation as self-defense.”

At the same time, the Houthis have reiterated their threats to strike US Navy ships if they attacked Yemen or stopped them from implementing their ban on Israel-bound ships, and they also organized protests in Yemeni cities under their control to condemn the US and Israel.

“This is a message to all enemies and their pawns that the Yemeni armed forces are ready for any confrontation with the actual enemy, America and Israel,” Houthi leader Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti told Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV news channel.

Experts believe that it is difficult to foresee Houthi retaliation for the deaths of their personnel in the Red Sea, or if the Houthi Red Sea strikes would spark an all-out conflict between the US-led maritime task forces that protect the Red Sea.

Kendall says that the Houthis are less eager to start a fight in the Red Sea because it would impede the UN-brokered peace talks that are supposed to give them legitimacy.

“Houthis are on the cusp of finding political legitimacy as part of a UN-mediated roadmap to resolve the Yemen war,” Kendall said.

“Entering a new international war would destroy their chances of becoming a recognized part of Yemen’s governance structure.”

Despite their commitment to support the UN Yemen envoy’s roadmap to end the war in Yemen, the Houthis have launched attacks on government troops in the besieged city of Taiz and launched an explosive-laden drone at a market in the southern province of Lahj, killing two civilians.