Yemen's Houthis say Liberian-flagged bulk carrier sinks in Red Sea

SANAA -- Yemen's Houthi group said Monday that the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MAGIC SEAS it attacked on Sunday sank completely in the Red Sea.

"The ship MAGIC SEAS sank completely in the depths of the Red Sea after our armed forces targeted it," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, adding that the attack was a response to the shipowner's "repeated violations" of the Houthi ban on entry to Israeli ports.

"The latest of these violations was the entry of three of the company's ships into occupied Palestinian ports last week, despite warnings from our naval forces," Sarea said.

"The moments of the sinking are documented in audio and videotape," he said.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates said in a statement that the Gulf country had rescued all 22 people, including crew members and security staff, from MAGIC SEAS after it was attacked in the Red Sea.

On Sunday, Britain's Maritime Trade Organization reported on social media platform X that a vessel came under attack 51 nautical miles southwest of Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, after multiple small boats surrounded it and opened fire using small arms and self-propelled grenades. It also said that the vessel's armed security team shot back.

It then reported that the security team and all crew members of the vessel were allowed to abandon the vessel after its left side was hit by two unmanned bomb-laden boats and left with a hole that let water in.

Later on Sunday night, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea ports in western Hodeidah Province, targeting what it described as Houthi strongholds.

Earlier on Monday, the Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching attacks at MAGIC SEAS, using ballistic missiles, unmanned boats, and drones.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, have been targeting Israel since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.