Yemen airstrikes – live: Missile hits vessel near Red Sea as terror attack reported in Israel

A vessel has reported being struck by a missile on its side as it sailed 95 miles southeast of Yemen’s port city of Aden.

The UKMTO says that the captain of a boat has claimed his vessel was “hit from above by a missile”.

So far it is not clear who is behind the strike but authorities are investigating.

Other vessels are being urged to proceed with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Rishi Sunak should say if it is proposing further action against Houthi rebels and “set out the case for doing so”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader said the merits of more military intervention would have to be considered on a “case-by-case” basis.

Speaking to broadcasters on a visit to north London, Sir Keir said Labour supports the action against Houthi, and accepted that sometimes when “urgent operational issues” arise it is “not possible” to have a vote in parliament.

Sir Keir drew a distinction between urgent “one-off” operations and a “sustained campaign”, which he said would “require more process in parliament”.

The attacks came after the Houthis launched their largest attack on Red Sea shipping, one of 27 such assaults since 19 November.

Officials said that 21 missiles and drones were fired at warships and commercial vessels near the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier this week, the southern bottleneck of the Red Sea, with US and UK warships blowing them out of the sky.

Huge explosions were seen in Yemeni cities including Sana’a and Hodeidah in the early hours of Friday, with the US military saying 60 strikes were launched against 16 sites linked to the Houthis’ military operations.

Below, The Independent looks at how the attacks unfolded and what weapons were used in the strikes.

The chief negotiator for Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday that the group’s position has not changed since US-led air strikes on Yemen and warned attacks on ships headed to Israel will continue.

“Attacks to prevent Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of the occupied Palestine will continue,” Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.

He added that the group’s demands are still for an end of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid to the north and south of the strip.

Rishi Sunak has suggesting he is prepared to authorise further strikes against the Houthis – saying the would “not hesitate” to protect security in the Red Sea.

“Our aim is to de-escalate tensions in the region and actually restore stability back to the area,” the PM said on a visit to Essex – calling the rebels’ attacks on shipping “unacceptable|.

Mr Sunak said: “It’s right that we took proportionate, targeted action against military targets to send a strong message that that behaviour is unacceptable.

“I think it is encumberment on the Houthis to recognise the international condemnation for what they are doing and desist. But we, of course, will not hesitate to protect our security where required.”

The German statistics office said on Monday that it was impossible to say at the moment what effect attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea actually had on the economy.

Defence secretary Grant Shapps has defended saying “watch this space” ahead of the UK and US air strikes on Houthi locations last week following a report that it had annoyed the Americans.

The Sunday Times quoted a senior diplomat as saying there was “some real annoyance” in Washington after the remark was made.

Asked about the report, Mr Shapps told Sky News: “That is not true. I speak to my American friends all the time and they – and we – were very clear that we would be signalling the fact that if they didn’t stop, then there would be action.

“And so I used that phrase very deliberately in order to say ‘If this carries on, then we will have to step in’.”

The Defence Secretary set out his vision for deterring threats, leading among allies, and defending the UK as “the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core”.