According to U.S. media reports, experts said on Sunday that the cutting of undersea cables in the Red Sea has disrupted internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, but the cause of the incident remains unclear.
People are concerned that the cables may have been targeted during the Houthis' Red Sea operations in Yemen, which the group describes as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, the Houthis have previously denied attacking cables.
Undersea cables are one of the pillars of the internet, along with satellite connections and land cables. Usually, internet service providers have multiple access points and reroute traffic when one line fails, although this may slow down users' access speeds.
Microsoft announced on a status website that due to the cutting of undersea fiber optics in the Red Sea, "the Middle East may experience increased latency." The company based in Redmond, Washington, did not immediately provide details, but said that internet traffic not passing through the Middle East "was not affected."
NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, stated, "A series of undersea cable failures in the Red Sea have led to a decline in the quality of internet connectivity in several countries," including India and Pakistan. It accused the failure of the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Southeast Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SME-4) undersea cable is operated by Tata Communications, a major Indian company. The India-Middle East-West Europe (IMEWE) cable is operated by another consortium supervised by Alcatel-Lucent.
Both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pakistan Telecommunications Co. Ltd., the country's leading telecom company, mentioned in a statement released on Saturday that the cable cutting incident did occur. Saudi Arabia has not immediately acknowledged the disruption, and local authorities have also not responded to requests for comment. In the UAE, residents of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, who use the country's state-owned Du and Etisalat networks, complained about slower internet speeds. The government has not yet acknowledged the disruption. Undersea cables can be cut by ship anchors or become targets of attacks. Repairing them takes weeks because ships and crews must locate the damaged cables above. This cutting incident occurs as the Houthi rebels in Yemen are launching a series of attacks against Israel, amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel responded with air strikes, including one that killed a senior leader of the rebel movement. In early 2024, the internationally recognized Yemeni exile government accused the Houthis of planning to attack undersea cables in the Red Sea. Several cables were cut, and the Houthis denied responsibility.
On Sunday morning, the Houthi Al-Masira satellite news channel confirmed that the cables had been cut and cited NetBlocks. From November 2023 to December 2024, during the Israel-Hamas war in Yemen, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. In the course of these operations, the Houthis have sunk four ships and caused at least eight sailors to die. Supported by Iran, the Houthis suspended their attacks during a short ceasefire in the war.
Afterward, they became the target of a strong air strike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump for several weeks, which Trump implemented after claiming to have reached a ceasefire with the rebels. The Houthis sank two ships in July, causing at least four deaths, with others reportedly taken into custody by the rebels. The new round of Houthi attacks occurred amid possible new ceasefires in the Israel-Hamas war. At the same time, the prospects for negotiations between the U.S. and Iran regarding Tehran's damaged nuclear program remain uncertain, following Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic Republic and the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities.
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