REUTERS, Dubai

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said that an explosion was reported at a distance off a vessel’s starboard side west of Yemen’s Hodeidah. UKMTO said that the vessel and crew are safe.

Residents said the Houthis fired a missile from a camp in the Houthi-controlled Ibb city in central Yemen towards the sea.

The Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched a wave of exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent weeks, calling it a response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and a show of solidarity with Palestinians.

Late on Wednesday, the United States struck up to 10 unmanned drones in Yemen that were preparing to launch, a US official said. A US Navy ship also shot down three Iranian drones and a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden, the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.