Pentagon: Despite More Houthi Attacks, Engagements Have Been Successful

Despite continued #Houthi attacks, including on both Israel and a ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, #Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday military engagements in the Red Sea, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, as 'successful.' "Do some of the missiles get through every now and then? Yes, we've seen that happen. But for the majority of the time, our engagements have been successful, our allies engagements have been successful," said Singh at a Thursday press briefing in Washington. The rebels' supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced an “the escalation in sea operations” conducted by his forces as part of what they describe a pressure campaign to end Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis' targets have grown more random since their attacks began in November, endangering a vital waterway for cargo and energy shipments traveling from Asia and the Middle East onward to Europe. The attack Thursday in the Gulf of Aden saw two missiles fired at a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander, the U.S. military's Central Command said. A European naval force in the region described the attack as sparking a fire and wounding one sailor on board the vessel, though the ship is continuing on its way. "We know the importance of this waterway. We know that 10 to 15% of the world's commerce flows right through here," Singh said. "If we did nothing, then these ships would be getting hit every single day." Source: Department of Defense, Associated Press