A Houthi missile attack ignited a blaze aboard a Netherlands-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden, as the rebel group continues to ramp up attacks against commercial ships moving through the region. 

Houthis hit the Minervagracht cargo ship on September 29, with no injuries reported. The attack came a week after a failed assault on the same vessel, French military officials told the Associated Press. The ship is owned by Amsterdam-based carrier Spliethoff, which did not respond to questions from the AP as to why their vessel was targeted by the rebel group twice. Although the Houthis have claimed to be focusing their attacks on ships with ties to Israel, the U.S. Navy's Joint Maritime Information Center said that the Minervagracht has no such affiliations.

In late July, the Houthis vowed to expand their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea to include any ships that do business at Israeli ports, regardless of nationality. The group attacked two Greek-owned vessels weeks before that proclamation, killing four crew members in the second attack and taking 11 others captive. Before that, they hadn't attacked a merchant ship in the Red Sea since December 2024, as part of a ceasefire that was broken after Israel escalated its war in Gaza.