Houthi rebels test US ceasefire with deadly strike on cargo ship

A crew member has died from injuries sustained during a Houthi attack on a Dutch cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, as the Iran-backed rebels escalate their campaign against international targets and detain United Nations workers in Yemen.

The Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers confirmed that the victim was a Filipino national aboard the Minervagracht, a vessel operated by Amsterdam-based Spliethoff. The ship was struck by an explosive device while sailing in international waters, igniting a fire that forced the evacuation of 19 crew members of Russian, Ukrainian, Filipino and Sri Lankan nationalities. They were rescued by helicopter and transported to safety, the company said.

Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging the vessel had “violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine.” The group has repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming its attacks are acts of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza.

But the strike on the Minervagracht was the first major assault in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, since July 2024.

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And the strike on the Minervagracht marked the Houthis’ first assault on a commercial ship since the Sept. 1 attack on the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray near the Saudi port city of Yanbu.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said that 10 of its staff members — all Yemeni nationals — were detained this week in areas controlled by the Houthis. They were working to deliver humanitarian aid in one of the world’s poorest and most war-torn countries.

According to the U.N., a total of 54 staff members have been detained by the Houthis since 2021 as the rebels intensify their crackdown on international aid organizations. The Houthis have previously accused detained aid workers of being part of a “spy network,” a claim the U.N. and human rights groups have strongly denied.

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The detentions come as Yemen’s civil war, now in its tenth year, continues to fragment the country and complicate aid delivery, with more than two-thirds of the population reliant on humanitarian assistance.

The attacks come after Washington agreed to a ceasefire with the Houthis in May — raising questions about whether it will hold.

The Houthis “say they will not be blowing up ships anymore,” President Donald Trump said on May 6 when he announced the ceasefire.

In July, the Houthis attacked Greek-owned commercial vessel Magic Seas and the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C.

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Between December 2023 and February 2024, Houthi attacks caused a 90% drop in global container shipping through the Red Sea, according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.

The Houthis have not violated the ceasefire provision banning attacks on U.S. ships but have breached the agreement’s clause requiring “the smooth flow of international commercial shipping.”