Houthi "Double-Tap" Strike Kills Six on Red Sea Ship
Six people were killed when the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah was struck in the Red Sea and a second strike hit rescuers responding to the first, in an attack claimed by Yemen’s Houthis. The dead included four crew and two rescuers, among them three Pakistani nationals. It is being described as the first deadly attack on shipping since the start of the war with Iran.
The so-called double-tap — a follow-up strike timed to hit those coming to help — marks a grim escalation in the Houthis’ campaign against shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea. The deaths are the first among mariners since the wider conflict with Iran erupted, and they threaten to accelerate the exodus of commercial traffic from a route that normally carries a large share of global trade. Shipowners already diverting around Africa face higher costs and longer voyages, feeding into prices worldwide. The attack compounds the disruption from the closed Strait of Hormuz further north. Watch whether more vessels reroute and how naval forces in the region respond.