Houthis kill three crew on Egyptian ship in Red Sea

Three crew members were killed when an Egyptian‑owned cargo vessel was struck in the Bab el‑Mandeb strait on Tuesday, according to maritime and Yemeni sources. The attack is believed to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea for the past two years. In the same hour, a container ship off the coast of Pakistan was hit by a missile in what some reports say was a suspected US strike, adding to the day’s tensions in global shipping lanes.

The Bab el‑Mandeb is a narrow choke‑point that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is vital for the transit of oil and goods between the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Since 2022, the Houthis have launched more than 20 attacks on merchant vessels, using missiles, small boats and drones. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that these strikes threaten the safety of crews and could disrupt the flow of about 10 % of the world’s oil shipments. The latest incident marks the third death in a Houthi‑related attack in the last month, raising alarms among shipping companies and governments.

Egypt’s foreign ministry released a statement condemning the attack and calling for the protection of international shipping. The ministry also said it would lodge a formal protest with the Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the Hou