– The Houthis’ latest attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden most likely amount to war crimes in at least three cases, Human Rights Watch said today.
The attacks follow the Houthis’ announcement on July 20, 2026, that they would impose a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, in response to what they claimed is a Saudi sea and air blockade on Yemen, where the Houthis control the northwestern part of the country. The new attacks targeted at least two Saudi-flagged vessels, a Tanzania-flagged vessel, and a Dominica-flagged vessel. Attacks on civilians or civilian objects committed recklessly or with deliberate intent constitute war crimes.
“The Houthis are once again putting seafarers’ lives at deadly risk through their attacks on commercial ships, this time as part of their hostilities with the Saudi-led coalition,” said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Whatever the geopolitics, attacks on civilian crews carried out deliberately or recklessly are war crimes.”
