In early May 2024, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced that the Yemeni group would expand its drone and missile attacks to a broader area, including the Mediterranean. Military analysts believe the militia has the capability to do so, even though their strikes would be interceptable over the long distance. According to a Houthi spokesperson, this long-range strategy has now commenced.
On May 24, Yemeni military spokesperson Yahya Sarea stated in a television address that the group targeted three ships, one of which was located in the Mediterranean. The ship in question is the gas tanker Essex. Sarea claimed that "several missiles" were launched at the vessel, but provided no further details. On that day, the Essex was anchored off the port of Alexandria, Egypt. A spokesperson for the ship's operating company, Zodiac Maritime (controlled by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer), reported that nothing unusual had occurred around the ship.
The other two ships that the Houthis claimed to have attacked are the Yannis, which was sailing in the Red Sea, and the container ship Msc Alexandra, traveling in the Arabian Sea. In these cases as well, there is no evidence that the ships were hit. The only recent report from non-Yemeni sources came from the US Centcom, which stated that on May 25, the Houthis launched two missiles without hitting their targets. The following day, a US military ship shot down a drone in the Red Sea.
