Houthi rebels continue to fire missiles at US war and cargo ships in the Red Sea show that the West’s barrage of airstrikes on locations in Yemen was limited in its ability to neutralize the enemy, officials claim

US and British airstrikes on Houthis have had limited impact, a US official warned – after a US cargo ship was hit by rebel missiles.

Monday’s attack by the Houthis on the M/V Gibraltar Eagle – a US-owned and operated Marshall Islands-flagged container ship – did not cause serious damage.

No one was injured and the ship continued its journey. But, an official told CNN, it showed that Friday’s attack on the Houthis failed to significantly degrade their capabilities.

The Houthis, backed by Iran, have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, allegedly in support of Gaza residents.

Washington and London have repeatedly warned the Houthis and their Iranian controllers to stop attacking the vital shipping route.

On Friday they took action after their warnings were ignored, hitting 30 targets, the US said. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said 13 targets had been hit.

Images shared on social media showed the American and British airstrikes in Yemen on Friday

The attacks were successful: 93 percent of their targets were damaged or destroyed.

But they were limited: they left almost three-quarters of Houthi capabilities intact a senior official told CNN.

“Notice received and some deterioration – but we expect a response and do not believe we have substantially rolled back their military efforts,” the official said.

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Friday that the attacks achieved their objectives.

“This was not a signaling exercise,” he said. “This was intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ military capabilities.”

The attacks were launched against command and control nodes, munitions, launch systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems.

“This wasn’t necessarily so much about casualties as it was about reducing capabilities,” Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims II, director of operations for the Joint Staff, said in a briefing last week.

“This was solely intended to exploit capabilities that impede freedom of navigation in international waters, and we’re fairly confident we’ve done a good job on that.”

Britain insisted the strikes were an act of “self-defense” intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region.”

Yet the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported for the first time on Monday that an ‘incident’ had occurred 95 nautical miles south-east of Aden.

That report stated only that the ship’s captain reported that the “port side of the ship was struck by a missile from above,” but did not identify the ship or provide any further details.

The US later confirmed the ship was the M/V Gibraltar Eagle.

And on Sunday, the Houthi rebels launched an attack on a US destroyer in the Red Sea.

Sunday’s attack on the US warship marked the first US-acknowledged fire from the Houthis since America and allied countries began attacking the rebels on Friday after weeks of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

An American commercial ship was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Monday

On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an attack on a US destroyer in the Red Sea

The Houthis – an Iran-linked Shiite rebel group that seized Yemen’s capital in 2014 – have targeted the crucial corridor connecting energy and freight in Asia and the Middle East to the Suez Canal and then to Europe because of the war between Israel and Hamas. conflict turns into a regional conflagration.

It was not clear at this time whether the US would retaliate for the latest attacks, although President Joe Biden has said he “will not hesitate to take further action as necessary to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce .’

The UKMTO warned ships to ‘sail with caution and report any suspicious activity’.

The Shiite rebel group has declared war on the West over its support for Israel

A US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by Houthi rebels at the US destroyer USS Laboon (pictured) in the Red Sea on Sunday, their first response to a series of drone attacks launched by the Americans in recent days

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

The Houthis have attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea that they claim are bound for Israel as they seek to support the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

A US fighter jet shot down the Houthi cruise missile from the sky over the Red Sea on Sunday before it could hit its target, the USS Laboon.

Rebels posed with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released on Sunday.

Fighters were also photographed earlier this weekend doing exercises and filming themselves in terrain that resembled Jewish settlements.