US says Houthis launch missiles at tanker, causing no damage

Iran-allied Houthi militia launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US-owned tanker ship on Thursday night that hit the water near the vessel, causing no injuries or damage, says the US Central Command.

The incident, the latest amid growing tensions in the Red Sea that has disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply bottlenecks, took place at around 9 p.m. Yemen local time (1800 GMT), according to the post on X, formerly Twitter.

China to track developments in Red Sea, provide support to foreign trade enterprises

China’s Ministry of Commerce says it was closely tracking developments in the Red Sea in response to the escalating situation there and the country will provide support and assistance to foreign trade enterprises.

“It is hoped that all parties concerned will restore and ensure the security of shipping lanes in the Red Sea waters,” a spokesperson for the ministry said in a statement late Thursday.

The ministry said it hopes all parties jointly safeguard the smooth flow of global production and supply chains and the normal order of international trade.

The Houthis have launched dozens of attacks since November on vessels in the Red Sea, in what they claim is an effort to support Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships targeted have had no ties to Israel whatsoever.

The attacks are part of a broad response to the Gaza conflict by a so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah — all of whom are backed by Iran.

The Houthis, who rally under the banner “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam,” have also launched a number of drones and missiles directly at Israel.

Houthis claim US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack

Yemeni’s Houthi rebels claim they carried out a missile attack on a US ship in the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis said in a statement posted early Friday on their social media that their “naval” forces had attacked the Chem Ranger “with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits”.

It did not give a time or other details for the latest attack in international shipping lanes.

Houthi aggression against vessels in the Red Sea has led to strikes in Yemen by US and British forces, with the United States reporting its latest attack on Houthi targets on Thursday.

The specialist website Marine Traffic identified the Chem Ranger as a Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker sailing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.

British maritime risk management company Ambrey said a Marshallese chemical tanker sailing along the same route had reported a “suspicious” approach by drones.

One fell in the sea approximately 30 meters from the tanker, it added. “An Indian warship responded to the event.”

“There were no crew casualties or damage reported,” the monitor said.

The British maritime security agency UKMTO, without naming the vessel, also reported an incident in the same area in which a drone approached a merchant ship, with an explosion reported in the water about 30 metres away.

“Coalition forces are responding, vessel and crew are safe, vessel proceeding to next port,” it said in a bulletin.

There will be no Entebbe-like operation to save hostages in Gaza, says Eisenkot

There will not be an Entebbe-like operation to save the hostages in Gaza, says war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff turned lawmaker with the National Unity party.

Speaking with Channel 12’s Uvda investigative program, Eisenkot says a daring rescue like the 1976 operation by an Israeli elite commando squad that saved 98 hostages from Palestinian and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda “will not happen.”

The terrorists hijacked an Air France jet flying from Tel Aviv to Paris on June 27, 1976, diverting to Entebbe airport in Uganda, where the hijackers were welcomed by dictator Idi Amin. The legendary, storied mission claimed the lives of four hostages and that of Yoni (Yonatan) Netanyahu, brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led the rescue squad.

Eisenkot says the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the shock onslaught on October 7 are “spread out in such a way,” mainly underground, that the “probability after Ori Megidish, is extremely low.”

"לא יהיה מבצע בסגנון אנטבה". גדי איזנקוט עם אמירה שקשה לשמוע, מתוך הריאיון ששידרנו הערב: pic.twitter.com/lm3wsRP8OS

— עובדה (@Uvda_tweet) January 18, 2024

Pvt. Ori Megidish was rescued in late October by the IDF and the Shin Bet, days after Israel launched its ground operation in the Gaza Strip. She remains the only hostage of the remaining 132 abductees taken on October 7 to have been rescued through a military operation.

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 27 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. In late November, 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce. Four hostages were released prior to that. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military in a tragic incident last month.

Troops “are still making every effort and looking for every opportunity [to save hostages] but the likelihood is low, and to say that [it’ll happen] is a delusion,” says Eisenkot, whose son and nephew were killed fighting in Gaza last month.

“It needs to be said, bravely, that…it’s not possible to return the hostages, alive, in the near term, without a deal,” he says, blasting “anyone who is trying to sell fantasies to the public.”

Eisenkot says a pause to the fighting in Gaza “for a certain amount of time” will likely be required as part of any potential deal, pointing to the weeklong agreement secured in late November in which 105 civilians were freed from Hamas.

He says the next pause will likely be longer “by three or four times but after that, the war objectives will still be in effect.”

Eisenkot’s National Unity party agreed to join Netanyahu’s coalition on an emergency basis in a demonstration of political unity after the October 7 terror onslaught.

Gallant and US defense secretary Austin discuss Gaza war, regional security

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on “Israel’s shift to low-intensity operations in Gaza, the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza, instability in the West Bank, and a range of regional security matters,” according to a readout of the call.

Austin emphasized to Gallant the need to step up humanitarian aid across Gaza, and protect civilians. In addition, he “acknowledged” Israel’s concerns over intensifying clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah on the Lebanon border, and “reiterated US resolve to prevent the situation from escalating,” says the readout.