July 31, 2024: The Suez canal blockade by Yemen’s Iran-backed Shia Houthi militia and shipping continues. Ships traveling north in the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal have been under attack by the Houthis since late 2023. The Houthis are at war with Israel and still fire at ships more or less at random, though they contend they only fire on ships serving Israel. So far 60 ships have been attacked and half of them damaged. Two ships were sunk while two others were boarded by Houthi gunmen and captured. One was later released but the other one is still being held. Four sailors have been killed and eight wounded.

The U.S. Navy has sent a carrier task force to launch perfunctory air strikes on Houthi targets with predictable minor effects. On July 19th, one of the Houthi UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or drones hit a building in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, killing one civilian and wounding several others. The next day, Israel sent F-15 and F-35 fighter-bombers to destroy several economic targets in the Yemen Red Sea port of Hudaydah. This is where weapons arrive from Iran for the Houthis to use against Red Sea shipping. The airstrikes destroyed fuel storage sites as well as port facilities, including the difficult-to-replace ship unloading cranes. If the Israelis leave the port alone this work could take up to a year. The Israelis are not going to leave the port of Hudaydah as long as the Houthis are using it.