Yemen

British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday that a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greece-owned bulk carrier was targeted by missiles in two incidents within two minutes while transiting through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The bulker was reportedly hit and suffered damage to its the starboard side, Ambrey added.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is working "tirelessly" to solve the Red Sea crisis, which is severely disrupting the global transport of goods, its head Arsenio Dominguez told AFP.

The United States military recently executed a series of seven defensive strikes against Houthi rebel targets situated in Yemen.

The United States military confirmed Thursday its forces conducted multiple strikes against Huthi missile systems as the Yemen-based rebel group prepared to launch attacks that threatened U.S. Navy and merchant ships.

Germany sent a powerful air s frigate on Thursday to join a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea that will be launched in mid-February to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia.

The leader of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis has said that the group will further escalate if the Israeli attack on Gaza does not stop.

The Houthis, who control Yemen's capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians, drawing US and British retaliatory strikes since last month.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at two vessels in the Red Sea, they said on Tuesday, causing minor damage to a cargo ship that was sailing off the coast of Yemen's Hodeidah.

Russia and China accused the United States during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday of stoking already high tensions in the Middle East with its recent retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. military said Monday it had struck explosive uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) operated by Huthi rebels in Yemen, days after a wave of joint strikes with Britain aimed at stopping continued attacks on international shipping.

Companies in the European Union and the Balkan countries have been turning to suppliers in Türkiye over the past weeks as troubles in the Red Sea increase freight costs and disrupt deliveries, business daily Dünya has reported.