Yemeni Armed Forces Strike Israeli Oil Tanker in the Red Sea

Sana’a vows to maintain naval blockade on Israeli-linked shipping until Gaza siege ends

Yemen, PUREWILAYAH.COM — The Yemeni Armed Forces have announced that their naval units carried out a successful missile strike against the SCARLET RAY, an Israeli oil tanker sailing in the northern Red Sea, as part of their ongoing campaign to block Israeli-linked maritime traffic in support of Palestine.

In a statement issued Monday, the military confirmed that the vessel was hit directly with a ballistic missile.

“The operation achieved a precise strike, by the grace of Allah,” the statement said. The Armed Forces declared that the action was in direct response to the Zionist entity’s continuing massacres, starvation tactics, and blockade against the people of Gaza.

The Yemeni statement reaffirmed that all Israeli or Israel-bound vessels are prohibited from navigating through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, stressing that military operations will not cease until Israel halts its aggression and lifts its siege on the Gaza Strip.

Part of an Escalating Regional Confrontation

Since late 2023, Yemen has enforced a naval blockade targeting Israeli ships and vessels linked to occupied Palestinian ports. The Red Sea has become a key front in a wider regional conflict, with Yemeni forces repeatedly striking Israeli and Western commercial and military assets at sea.

The attack on the SCARLET RAY comes amid a sharp escalation in Israeli operations across Gaza and follows last week’s Israeli airstrike in Sana’a, which killed Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahwi and several cabinet ministers.

Official Statement and Religious Justification

The official communique from the Yemeni Armed Forces opened with a Quranic verse from Surah Muhammad: “O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet.”

The statement described the strike as a victory for the “oppressed Palestinian people and their noble fighters” and as part of Yemen’s religious and moral duty to oppose the Zionist enemy.

It pledged further strikes against Israeli targets both inside occupied Palestine and at sea until the siege of Gaza is lifted and Palestinian rights are restored.

Concluding with the declaration “Long live Yemen—free, proud, and independent. Victory to Yemen and to all the free people of the Ummah”, the Armed Forces underlined their defiance against Israeli and Western aggression, portraying the Red Sea blockade as both a strategic and moral front in the struggle against occupation and imperialism. (PW)