The European mission in the Red Sea confirmed on April 18 that it was engaged in fierce clashes with Yemeni forces. This came a day after its commander appealed for reinforcements and the European Union also made clear its reluctance to escalate in the region.
US Navy Secretary General Carlos del Toro said: “We have exhausted a billion dollars worth of ammunition to deal with 130 attacks on American ships in the Red Sea.” He added: “Spending on ammunition has increased significantly and Congress must agree to increase spending so we can obtain additional resources.”
He has asked his government to provide more than two billion dollars to the US Navy so that it can stock up on ammunition and provide all kinds of “defensive” measures. While the military website Breaking Defense indicated: “The Pentagon is counting on an additional budget from Congress to help replenish the $1 billion worth of munitions that the US Navy has depleted due to recent naval operations in the Sea Red and the Middle East”.
The words of the Secretary General of the US Navy Carlos del Toro were echoed by those of the leader of the Ansar Allah movement, Abdul Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi who thus summarized the activity in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean by the Houthis.
“Yemen support operations have reached 14 operations in two weeks, from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean has become part of the operations, as has southern Israel.” And he added: “We have targeted 8 ships linked to Israel and the total number of ships targeted reaches 98 ships. Operations continue. In recent weeks several military ships have withdrawn from the Red Sea, and this is useful, and all those who have withdrawn speak of the effectiveness of the operations.” “We assure the Americans, the British and everyone else that no one will ever be able to stop our operations in support of Gaza.”
“There is no danger for the navigation of European countries, which are not heading towards Israel and can pass safely. We tell the Europeans that it is in your interest to withdraw your units that cost you a lot and involve you in danger and skirmishes on behalf of the Americans. Through coordination with our country, any country can cross the sea without being targeted. The impact on the safety of navigation and crossing of ships is the congestion of warships in the Red Sea. The Israelis admit failure and their economic losses.”
On April 19, the international agency Standard & Poor’s announced the reduction of Israel’s credit rating following the Iranian attack and forecasts that the public deficit will rise to 8% this year
Al Houhi commented: “Israeli losses continue to increase as its ships and associated vessels are prevented from crossing. American and British losses and the countries involved in these charges are also increasing insurance and rising prices. The solution in everyone’s interest is to stop the aggression, end the siege of Gaza and provide food and medicine.”
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
