Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed a second assault on a commercial ship in the Mediterranean as part of their expanded missile and drone offensive in support of the Palestinian cause.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea reported that their missile and drone forces struck the Greece-flagged oil and chemical ship Minerva Antonia.

This follows an earlier attack on the Marshall Island-flagged bulk ship Laax and two Malta-flagged bulk carriers, Morea and Sealady, in the Red Sea.

The Houthis targeted these vessels for violating a ban on sailing to Israel and further launched cruise missiles at two American ships, Alba and Maersk Hartford, in the Arabian Sea.

Since November, the Houthis have intensified their maritime operations, seizing one commercial ship, sinking another, and launching numerous attacks on naval ships in international waters across the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, and off Yemen.

They aim to pressure Israel to cease its conflict in Gaza and retaliate against US and UK ships for supporting Israel and bombing Yemen.

The latest attacks came shortly after the US Central Command reported Houthi missile strikes on the Red Sea bulk carrier Laax, though the crew remained unharmed.

Defense measures by US forces also neutralized additional threats.

Concurrent reports confirmed that a commercial vessel in the Red Sea suffered damage from three missiles off Hodeida, alongside Houthi allegations of airstrikes by US and UK forces on their missile and drone launch sites in Yemen.