Red Sea crisis

The Red Sea crisis (Arabic: أزمة البحر الأحمر) began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized or bombarded dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea and received hundreds of retaliatory air strikes by the United States and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Gaza war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.

Since 2014, the Houthis, who oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, have controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea. Shortly after the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Hamas-allied group began to launch missiles and drones at Israel. It has also fired on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb, the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal, damaging the global economy. The group declared that it would not stop until Israel ceased the Gaza war.

The Houthis declared any Israel-linked ship was a target for attack, including US and UK warships, but they also attacked the ships of nations with no connection to Israel. The Houthis have attacked 178 vessels throughout their two-year blockade, according to the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, sinking four ships and killing nine sailors. To avoid being attacked, hundreds of commercial vessels were rerouted to sail around South Africa.

Houthi Red Sea attacks have drawn military responses from a number of countries. In January 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, condemning the Houthi attacks and affirming freedom of navigation. The United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched to protect Red Sea shipping. From 12 January 2024, the US and UK led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently attacking Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. On 3 May 2024, Yemeni general Yahya Saree said, "We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach". On 6 May 2025, US president Donald Trump announced a cessation of US strikes as a result of a bilateral ceasefire between the US and the Houthis. The Houthis halted their attacks on international shipping and on Israel after the Gaza peace plan went into effect on 10 October 2025. Some major shipping corporations, such as Maersk, have since resumed their Red Sea routes, while others have held off due to the volatile situation. On 28 February 2026, in response to attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel, the Houthis threatened to escalate the conflict.