Tipsheet

Houthis Launch First Attack on Ship After Surrendering to Trump

Jeff Charles
Jeff Charles  |  July 07, 2025 1:15 PM

Yemen’s Houthi rebels appear to be restarting their attacks on vessels traveling through the Red Sea after President Donald Trump announced that the group had capitulated back in May.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the crew of a Greek-owned ship had to abandon ship after the rebels targeted the vessel on Sunday.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas had taken on water after being hit by gunfire with small arms and self-propelled grenades near the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in the Red Sea, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British Navy task force that monitors shipping in the Middle East.

The Houthis said they targeted the Magic Seas because it belonged to a company that “violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

Early on Monday, Israel’s military said it carried out airstrikes on Yemen following several ballistic-missile attacks by the Houthi rebel group in recent days.

Israel used around 20 jet fighters and dropped over 50 munitions during the attack, which targeted the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa and Salif as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant, the military said. It said the ports are used to transfer Iranian weapons and the power plant is used for the Houthi’s military needs. Israel’s military warned locals to evacuate those areas shortly before striking them.  

Israel retaliated on Monday, launching airstrikes against Houthi-controlled ports and infrastructure in Yemen, Politico reported. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had struck several points and a power plant. “These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime,” the IDF asserted.

The Houthis responded by launching a missile strike on Israel. But the attack caused minimal damage and no injuries.

The US conducted a series of airstrikes against the Houthi rebels back in May. The strikes were in response to the rebels’ constant attacks on ships traveling through the Red Sea. “They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 

In May, President Trump announced that the Houthi rebels would back off their attacks on shipping vessels. "The Houthis have announced to us at least that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honor that. And we will we will stop the bombings. And they have capitulated,” he told reporters.