'Eilat' authorities say settlement on verge of 'collapse'

🔶️ The head of the local authority in the "Eilat" settlement speaks of the "collapse" that the settlement is experiencing due to the Yemeni naval and air operations, at a time when Israelis feel abandoned by their government.

🔶️ Lancry added, in a statement to Israeli Channel 12, that "there is no tourism in Eilat, as no one has the desire to come here," stressing that "Eilat" has become a "moribund" settlement.

🔶️ The head authority also pointed out that the number of settlers there had "doubled after their evacuation from the North and South," but the Yemeni armed forces "are escalating their operations day after day, and the threat is no longer only security, but also economic."

Maersk Ship Hit by Missile in the Red Sea

🔶️ The incident comes has Maersk has been resuming transits through the Red Sea with the establishment of the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) naval coalition, while some other carriers have opted to continue to reroute ships around the Cape of Good Hope due to safety concerns as the Iran-backed Houthis have continued to carry out missile attacks against commercial shipping.

🔶️ The Maersk Hangzhou is a 15,226-capacity containership owned and operated by Danish shipping company Maersk, the world’s second-largest ocean carrier.

🔶️ Maersk suspended transits through the Red Sea back on December 15 a day after a near-miss missile attack on the Maersk Gibraltar near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The announcement by Maersk led to other operators also suspending voyages and redirecting ships around the Cape of Good Hope.


U.S. Central Command statement:

'Today at approximately 8:30 p.m. Sanaa time, the container ship 'Maersk Hangzhou' reported that they were struck by a missile while transiting the Southern Red Sea.

The Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned container ship requested assistance, and the USS Gravely (DDG 107) and USS Laboon (DDG 58) responded to the ship. The vessel is reportedly seaworthy and there are no reported injuries.

While responding, the USS GRAVELY shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the ships'.