The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Thursday demanding an end to the attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen.
Along with that directive was a call for the Houthis to release the Japanese-operated vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader and its 25-member crew, hijacked by the Yemeni terrorists on November 19 due to its links to Israeli businessman.
The resolution passed in a vote of 11 to four, with abstentions by Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council who have the ability to block a resolution with a veto.
“The threat to navigational rights and freedoms in the Red Sea is a global challenge that necessitates a global response,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield prior to the vote.
Several hours prior, The Telegraph reported that at least 200 Houthi operatives had attended training at Iran’s Navy Academy in addition to having received arms and weapons systems under the generous patronage of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The weapons systems have since enabled the Houthis to launch ballistic missiles and explosive drones at commercial vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea as they sail towards the Suez Canal.
The attacks began after Gaza’s Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization launched its invasion of southern Israel on October 7th, torturing, raping, beheading and slaughtering more than 1,200 people in dozens of villages and several IDF military bases along the Gaza border. The Houthis announced their support and intention to aid the terrorists’ war on Israel upon launching their own attacks on the shipping lane.
Last month the United States announced the formation of the multinational “Operation Prosperity Guardian” task force to patrol the waterway and defend cargo ships and other vessels in the shipping lane, through which a significant percentage of the world’s oil and other resources are carried.
Despite the patrols and a warning to the Houthis issued by the US and its partner nations, the Houthis have continued their attempts to paralyze all maritime traffic in the waterway as part of their effort to destroy the Israeli economy.
