Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the top commander of US naval forces in West Asia

The United States’ military has admitted to the failure of a Washington-led multinational task force recently formed under the pretext of protecting shipping in the strategic Red Sea following Yemen’s retaliatory attacks on Israeli-owned and -bound vessels in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, said in an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday that Yemen’s Armed Forces and popular Houthi Ansarullah resistance movement show no signs of ending their reckless attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway.

Cooper said there are currently five warships from the United States, France, and the United Kingdom patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.

The top commander claimed that since the operation started more than 10 days ago, the ships have shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Cooper said the Yemenis have since the start of Operation Prosperity Guardian stepped up their use of anti-ship ballistic missiles, adding, We are clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue.

Cooper also said the task force is in direct communication with commercial ships to provide guidance on maneuvering and the best practices to avoid being attacked, and working closely with the shipping industry to coordinate security.

Mohammad al-Bakhiti, a member of Ansarullah’s politburo, announced on Friday that the Yemeni armed forces were eager to engage in a confrontation with the United States in case of escalating tensions in the strategic Red Sea.

The popular resistance movement earlier said the international waterways as well as the Red Sea were secure for all passing vessels, except for Israeli ones or those heading towards the occupied territories.

Maersk ship struck by missile in Red Sea

The US Central Command announced on Sunday that a container ship run by the Danish shipping company Maersk had been struck by a missile in the southern part of the Red Sea.

Today at approximately 8:30 p.m. (Sana’a time), the container ship Maersk Hangzhou reported that they were struck by a missile while transiting the Southern Red Sea, the Central Command was cited by Russia’s official TASS news agency as saying in an X post.

The Singapore-flagged ship had requested assistance, and the USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the vessel, according to the post. While responding, the USS Gravely shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen toward the ships.

The vessel is reportedly seaworthy and there are no reported injuries, the post underlined.

The US Central Command said the incident was the 23rd attack on international shipping since November 19.

The Israeli regime launched its devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed nearly 22,000 people, most of them women and children. Over 56,000 individuals have also been wounded.

The Yemeni forces have vowed to keep up their strikes until the regime stops the war and lifts a crippling siege that it has been enforcing on Gaza.