Houthis launched a missile attack against a Saudi ship at Yemen's Port of Mokha in the Red Sea, as a conflict between the rebel group and Saudi Arabia continues to intensify.

According to The New York Times, a spokesperson for the Houthis said on social media on August 17 that the group had struck a Saudi military vessel and four escort ships. However, Yemen's internationally recognized government — which is backed by Saudi Arabia — claimed that the vessel attacked by Houthis was a commercial ship that had been out of service for more than a year, and was undergoing maintenance work.

The rebel militants declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in late July, after Yemen's official government bombed an airport runway to block the landing of a plane carrying a Houthi delegation from Iran. Then on August 12, Houthi strikes against a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait killed six people, marking the first deadly attacks against commercial vessels in the region since the start of the Iran war.

With the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz entering its seventh month, Bab al-Mandeb has become a key alternate route for Saudi Arabia to transport its oil by sea. The waterway also connects Asia to ports in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.