Red Sea crisis

The Red Sea crisis is an ongoing armed conflict and maritime crisis instigated by the Houthis, an armed group in Yemen fighting a civil war against the country's internationally recognized government. The Houthis began launching missiles and armed drones at Israel in response to the Gaza war, and have seized or attacked dozens of merchant and naval vessels travelling through the Red Sea which they claimed are linked to Israel. These actions provoked a military response from Israel, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. The crisis is linked to the Middle Eastern crisis, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.

Since 2014, the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council, who oppose the Saudi-backed government of Yemen and receive support from Iran, have controlled a considerable swath of the country's western territories, including most of the national Red Sea coastline. 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 chokepoint of the Red Sea (the northern chokepoint being the Suez canal), inflicting damage on the global economy. The group declared that it would not stop until Israel ceased military operations in Gaza.

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. As of May 2026, daily traffic through the strait was around 31 ships per day, as it had been since January 2024, remaining below the pre-war level of 75 ships per day.

During the war on Iran by the United States and Israel, the Houthis threatened to escalate the conflict on 28 February 2026. A month later on 28 March, the Houthis resumed their attacks on Israel amidst the war against Iran. On 13 July, the group resumed its attacks against Saudi Arabia and by 20 July, they announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian ports and ships in the Bab-el-Mandeb in response to the ongoing Saudi-led intervention and blockade against Houthi-controlled Yemen. On 30 July 2026, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Comoros formed the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance to ensure the freedom of navigation through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.