On July 7, the U.S. Navy confirmed that the Houthi rebels in Yemen had attacked a merchant ship for the first time in seven months, causing the crew to abandon the ship. The U.S. Navy announced: "The cargo ship 'Magic Ocean,' flying the Liberian flag and operated by Greece, sank after being attacked by the Houthi rebels in Yemen." The crew reported that the bow and engine room caught fire, at least two cargo holds flooded, and the ship lost power. It is alleged that the ship was transporting fertilizers and iron between China and Turkey. Previously, the Houthi rebels had largely stopped attacking ships in the Red Sea. On January 19, 2025, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas took effect, the Houthi rebels stated they would stop attacking and take on a supervisory role. After the ceasefire agreement collapsed, the Houthi rebels postponed their plan to resume attacks on the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels claim that if Israel does not stop its blockade of Gaza, they will attack Israeli ships.

American expert Nadwa al-Dossari, a researcher at the Middle East Institute, believes that the Houthi rebels have classified this attack as part of a continuous operation targeting Israel. However, she thinks this attack is related to Iran. "The fact that Iran has commanded most of the cross-border attacks by the Houthi rebels is often overlooked. The attack on the Magic Ocean cargo ship was not an accidental escalation," "The timing of the attack was carefully considered and strategically calculated. With the re-examination of Iran's nuclear program and upcoming talks with the United States, this attack may alleviate some pressure on Iran, or even provide it with leverage. Iran may actively control the Houthi rebels to gain concessions, or to demonstrate its strategic value." "The Houthi rebels may use this attack to strengthen their role within the Arc of Resistance military coalition."

From the current information, the "Magic Ocean" ship under the Greek company, flying the Liberian flag. This massive vessel, 200 meters long and 32.3 meters wide, has a deadweight tonnage of 63,301 tons, built in 2016. The giant ship set sail from a Chinese port on June 11 (International Maritime Organization website: departing from Zhuhai, China, destination Egypt), crossed the Southeast Asian route, entered the Gulf of Aden on July 3, passed through the Bab el Mandeb Strait on July 6, and was then sunk. There were 22 people on board, including 17 Filipinos, 1 Romanian, 1 Vietnamese, and 3 Sri Lankan security personnel. Fortunately, all the crew members have safely evacuated. The ship has been confirmed to have sunk to the bottom of the Red Sea. Although this 63,000-ton giant ship sank, large cargo ships usually travel through the deep waters of the Red Sea, where the depth can accommodate dozens of cargo ships, and the seawater is fluid, so the sunken cargo ships will be pushed to other places over time. Therefore, it does not affect the Red Sea shipping routes. The ship owner said: "Although it has docked at Israeli ports, this transport was considered low-risk because it had nothing to do with Israel." The Houthi rebels' requirement is that you have violated our requirements, so your company is banned from passing through this area. If you want to transport goods for Israel, don't go through the Suez Canal, just go around the Cape of Good Hope properly. Although it takes more than a week, it saves a lot of canal passage fees. You didn't learn your lesson, and now you've been hit! Now, looking at it, the Houthi rebels, also known as the "slippers army" of Yemen, are truly the real small tyrant in the Middle East.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837047138528519/

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