The US Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that a projectiles fired by Houthi forces in Yemen, believed to be directed at ships in the area, were not intended for a ship owned by an Israeli company.
The DOD statement followed reports in the Israeli media that the container ship owned by Zim Integrated Shipping Services, Ltd. was struck by the missiles on Wednesday. Two civilian crew members were lightly injured from shrapnel.
While no official assessment of the incident has been released, the DOD said any speculation of the attack targeting a “specific vessel” is “inaccurate and misleading”.
The DOD added that any unprovoked attack on a civilian vessel is unacceptable and condemned the incident.
The attack is the latest in a series of similar incidents that have occurred since the Yemeni civil war began in 2015. The US has made numerous calls for a cease-fire in the region and a return to peace negotiations.
