July 8, 2025

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Houthis Resume Red Sea Ship Attacks

AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman

Marking the first serious assault on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since a May 6 U.S.-Houthi ceasefire, crew members of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas abandoned the vessel on Sunday night after it was set ablaze by small boats toting rocket-propelled grenades as well as unmanned boats. The ship purportedly sank on Monday, according to the Houthis. Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, issued an alert saying that a merchant ship had been “attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea.” Ambrey later said the ship also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, two of which struck the ship, and another two were destroyed by the armed guards on board.

The assault shatters the May 6 ceasefire that ended a seven-week U.S. air campaign (“Operation Rough Rider”) against Houthi missile, drone, and other military sites. The U.S.-led operation sought to deter the Houthis from attacks on commercial ships and military vessels in the Red Sea and other regional waterways after 18 months of Houthi attacks on more than 100 vessels that caused 60 percent of commercial shipping to divert to alternate routes, avoiding the Red Sea. Under the truce, the Houthis pledged to cease attacking Red Sea shipping, with the exception of vessels linked to Israel, leading Trump officials to declare Operation Rough Rider an unqualified U.S. military success. However, the Houthis deemed Trump’s decision to end the strikes on Yemen a capitulation to Houthi steadfastness in the face of precise U.S. strikes on more than 1,000 Houthi targets in Yemen throughout the course of the operation.

The Houthis’ refusal to commit to a cessation of attacks on Israel-linked vessels or ships doing business with Israel represented a show of support for Hamas in its battle with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza. Since the U.S.-Houthi truce, the group had continued to target Israel with long-range ballistic missiles, including during the recent Israel-Iran war, but had not, until now, resumed any attacks on Red Sea shipping. Because the Magic Seas has no evident direct connection to Israel or any Israeli firms or persons, U.S. officials and outside experts will likely assert the attack violates the Houthis’ truce commitment. However, the Greek owner of the Magic Seas, Allseas Marine, has at least three other vessels that have previously called in Israel, providing the Houthis a basis to argue they did not violate their ceasefire pledges. According to a statement by Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarie, “the ship sank after our armed forces targeted it in response to the repeated violations by its owner company of the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine.” It is also unclear whether the Houthi ceasefire pledge technically only pertained to ships owned or affiliated with the U.S. – another potential loophole the Houthis might use to deny the Magic Seas attack was a ceasefire violation.

The timing of the Houthi attack – one day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Trump, primarily to discuss a new ceasefire in Gaza – yields clues about Houthi motivation and strategy. Broadly, the Houthi assault seeks to signal to the two leaders that Iran’s Axis of Resistance remains a potent force in the region, and Iran and its coalition have not been defeated. The message is intended to spoil the celebratory climate of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, in which the two claim “victory” over Iran and the Axis. Mohammad Al-Basha, a Yemen analyst at the Basha Report risk advisory firm, wrote in a report on the attack: “It likely serves as a message that the Houthis continue to possess the capability and willingness to strike at strategic maritime targets regardless of diplomatic developments.”

The Houthi attack also raises questions of whether this signals the start of a new Houthi campaign against shipping in the Red Sea or rather represents a “one-off” assault intended to send a message to Trump and Netanyahu in advance of their meeting. A revival of the Houthis’ broader campaign against Red Sea shipping might derail Trump’s overall plan to use the leverage gained from the Israel-Iran war to conduct transformative diplomacy throughout the region. Trump is seeking to persuade the Houthis’ main ally, Iran, to resume talks with Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff on a nuclear agreement that would block all pathways for Iran to acquire a working nuclear weapon. By signaling Tehran retains at least some regional leverage, a renewed Houthi campaign in the Red Sea might stiffen Tehran’s opposition to Trump’s demands. Trump’s team also has sought, in the wake of the Iran-Israel ceasefire, to reach a new Gaza ceasefire agreement, and President Trump said on Sunday he expects a deal to be reached by the end of the week. The Houthi attack on the Magic Seas would appear intended to place pressure on Trump to insist that Netanyahu accede to Hamas’ demands for an end to the Gaza war.

Yet, the Magic Seas attack did not cause any immediate change in U.S. or Israeli policy on Gaza or any other outstanding regional issues. Hours after the Magic Seas assault, Israel attacked targets in Yemen in retaliation for the series of Houthi missile attacks on Israel over the past several days, including targeting Israel’s main international airport. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a series of targets in Yemen, claiming "Yemen's fate will be like Tehran's." He explained: “Operation Black Flag” as a strike against what he described as “terrorist targets” of the Houthi regime, including the ports of Hodeidah, As-Salif and Ras Isa, the Ras Kanatib power station, and the ship Galaxy Leader that was hijacked by the Houthis nearly two years ago. Katz claimed the Galaxy Leader “is currently used for terrorist activities in the Red Sea."

Following the Israeli strikes, the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation but apparently caused no damage. The Magic Seas attack, the Israeli strike, and the Houthi missile barrage raise questions of whether a new cycle of violence in the Red Sea is erupting after a period of relative calm. U.S. considerations over whether to retaliate for the Houthi assault on the Magic Seas will likely include the potential for additional U.S.-Houthi clashes to affect the U.S. diplomatic initiatives underway in Iran, the Gaza conflict, Saudi-Israel normalization, Israel-Syria relations, and other issues. Still, the Houthi attack on the Magic Seas tarnishes the U.S. claims that Operation Rough Rider had brought calm to the Red Sea and paved the way for a return to prior levels of commercial traffic through the waterway. The Houthi attack also raises the question of whether U.S. and allied officials might revive earlier considerations of supporting Yemeni ground forces opposed to the Houthis to reduce Houthi missile and other military capabilities. However, all the options open to Trump and his team carry risks, and the U.S. seems more likely to stand down unless the Magic Seas attack evolves into a broader and sustained Houthi campaign.