Middle East War Expands, page-2384

AP: Houthi attacks drag US Navy into its most intense battle since World War II

The Yemeni rebel group's offensives have affected more than 50 ships, the agency says, citing US commanders and experts.

The conflict between the US Navy and the Yemeni Houthis is the most intense ongoing naval battle for Washington since World War II, AP reports, citing US commanders and experts.

The article reports that the Houthis launch missiles, drones or carry out other attacks "almost every day" in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

AP writes that the US Navy "tries to keep international waterways open." "Since November, almost daily attacks by the Houthis have clearly affected more than 50 ships, while shipping volumes have fallen in the vital Red Sea corridor, which leads to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean," it says.

The attacks would intensify

AP indicates that "all signs" show that the attacks will intensify, "putting American sailors, their allies and commercial ships in greater danger."

Meanwhile, Bryan Clark, former US Navy submariner and researcher at the Hudson Institute (Washington D.C.), declared that this is the "most sustained combat the US Navy has seen since World War II." "We are on the verge of the Houthis being able to mount the kind of attacks that the US cannot stop at all times, and then we will start to see substantial damage," the expert said, adding that the rebel group could become " a much more capable, competent and experienced force.

In that context, the commander of the destroyer USS Laboon, Eric Blomberg, said that people do not really understand the severity of the threat that ships face in the Red Sea. "You only have to make a mistake once," he added.

Houthi forces have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea area for months, including ships from the US, the UK and Israel, in protest against Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.

They maintain that they will maintain these military operations until "the aggression and siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza cease."

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