Houthi ballistic missile strikes US-owned and operated vessel, US armed forces says

New this morning. The U.S. military Central Command now says U.S. fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile that was fired at a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Red Sea from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen.

And this comes just days after the U.S. and the U.K. launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The militant group vowed to retaliate. CNN's Oren Liebermann is joining us right now from the Pentagon. Oren, we're now learning, what,.

That another ship was hit by a missile just off the coast of Yemen. What's the latest? We have seen more launches since the incident on Sunday in which a U.S. fighter jets shot down a cruise missile that was fired at a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea.

We've just learned from U.S. Central Command that there was a ballistic missile fired against a U.S. owned and operated vessel. The Central Command did not say exactly where this happened, but the U.K. Maritime Security.

Organization said that this happened south of Yemen. The missile fired by the Houthies struck the M.V. Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands, flagged US owned and operated boat carrier that was traveling through the Red Sea,.

Obviously one of the world's most critical waterways. Now, according to U.S. Central Command. There was minor damage to the ship and no injuries. And crucially here, the ship itself remained seaworthy, which is that it continued on its way.

As part of its voyage. But, of course, the Houthis had promised to retaliate. They said that any U.S. or U.K. asset was a legitimate target. So this perhaps part of the retaliation and the response that the Houthis had promised against the much more widespread U.S.

And U.K. strikes that we saw on Thursday evening, worth pointing out that the U.S. then carried out a follow on strike. 24 hours later, the Pentagon in the White House had expected a U.S. response. This may be part of it, but the expectation is.

There will be something frankly, bigger, broader and more powerful coming from the Houthis. Still, this is now the third or fourth launch we've seen from Houthi territory following the U.S. strikes. Makes clear that the Houthis retain.

And still have quite a bit of military capability to try to threaten Red Sea shipping here. The U.S., the U.K. and the other coalition, they're trying to safeguard that shipping to make the waterway safe. Wolf, I think with what you see here.

Playing out over the last 24 hours, it is impossible to say that the waterway is safe at this point, even as the U.S. tries to get there. Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon for us. It looks like this situation is escalating. Big time indeed.

Thanks very, very much. All right. We're taking you now to the House of Commons, where we're hearing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking. Let's listen in. They fired on our ships and our sailors. It was the biggest attack on the Royal Navy for decades.

And so we acted. We did so in self-defense, consistent with the UN charter and to uphold freedom of navigation. As Britain has always done alongside the United States, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, we ordered the RAAF to strike to hit.

Military facilities in Yemen. I want to be clear that these were limited strikes. They were carefully targeted at launch sites for drones and ballistic missiles to discredit, to degrade the Hutt's capacity to make further attacks.

On international shipping. I can tell the House today that our initial assessment is that all 13 planned targets were destroyed. The drone and cruise missile base in Bali, nine buildings were successfully hit. A further.

Three buildings were hit that airfield along with a cruise missile launcher caught in the open. We have seen no evidence thus far of civilian casualties which we took great care to avoid. I know the whole house will join me in paying tribute to the incredible bravery.

And professionalism of all our servicemen and women The need to maximize the security and effectiveness of the operation meant that it was not possible to bring this matter to the House in advance. But we took care to brief members before the strikes took place.

Including you, of course, Mr. Speaker, and the Leader of the Opposition. And I've come to the House at the earliest possible opportunity Mr. Speaker, I do not take decisions on the use of force lightly. That's why.

I stress that this action was taken in self-defense. It was limited, not escalatory. It was a necessary and proportionate response to a direct threat to UK vessels and therefore to the UK itself. And, Mr.

Speaker, let me be absolutely clear why the Royal Navy is in the Red Sea. They are there as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian protecting freedom of navigation as a fundamental tenet of international law. The Houthis attack on.

International shipping have put innocent lives at risk. They have held one crew hostage for almost two months, and they are causing growing economic disruption. Global commerce cannot operate under such conditions. Containers and tankers.

Are having to take a 5000 mile detour around the Cape of Good Hope that pushes up prices and imperils the passage of goods, foods and medicines that the British people and others rely on. We have attempted to resolve this through diplomacy after numerous international calls.

To the attacks to stop. A coalition of countries gave the Houthis a clear and unambiguous warning two weeks ago. Last week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the attacks and highlighting the right of nations.

To defend their vessels and preserve freedom of navigation. Yet the Houthis continued on their reckless path. Mr.Speaker, we shouldn't fall for their malign narrative that this is about Israel and Gaza. They target ships from around the world.

We continue to work towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and to get more aid to civilians. We also continue to support a negotiated settlement in Yemen's civil war. But I want to be very clear that this action is completely unrelated to those issues.

It is a direct response to the Houthis attacks on international shipping And we should also recognize the risks of inaction. It would weaken international security and the rule of law further damage freedom of navigation in the global economy.

And send a dangerous message that British vessels and British interests are set again. And there is another point here which is often overlooked. The Houthis attack risks worsening the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen itself. The UK helps to feed around 100,000.

Yemenis every month, with aid arriving via the very sea routes that the Houthis have in their sights. So, Mr. Speaker, the threats to shipping must cease illegally detained vessels and Cruise must be released.

And we remain prepared to back our words with actions British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak there speaking at the House of Commons, committing to more aid for Ukraine and talking about that if Putin wins, he will not stop there. But importantly, Rishi.

Sunak also took us through. The US led coalition to strike back Houthi assets in Yemen to try and ease what we've been seeing over the past few weeks and frankly since the war began between Israel and Gaza, the disruption of trade and vessels.

Attacking vessels by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. He says that this was all a part of a defense strategy and also saying that he couldn't take this decision to the House of Commons because it was a security risk we've got. Sebastian following developments.

For us from London. Claire, we've been hearing now for Mr. Sunak important messaging coming through, also justifying why the UK was involved in this, a US led strike in Yemen, justifying this, saying it is important to try.

And figure out a way to secure that Red Sea Line and the Royal Navy, important parts of that. Yeah, I think you've got a measure of the delicate ness of this this action in this operation, in the language.

That he used. He stressed that it was limited, that it was proportionate, specifically saying not escalatory. This is what the US led coalition is grappling with how to deter and degrade.

The Houthis capabilities to continue to attack shipping in the Red Sea while not creating another flashpoint. Another potential front in the Middle East, which is, of course, one of the biggest fears that the West has alongside, of course,.

The war between Israel and Gaza. So he said that their initial assessment of the UK action is that all 13 planned target were hit. The US has said that they are also still assessing the effectiveness of what happened last week, how effective it was in.

Degrading the Houthis actions. And I think, you know, case in point, just about an hour or so before we should see that came out and made that statement, we got reports coming in that the US Central Command is now confirms to that a who the anti-ship.

Ballistic missile struck a US owned and operated vessel just off Aden in Yemen in the Gulf of air. And that is not adjacent to who do controlled areas in Yemen, but it does fit a pattern in the US.

Is now attributing that to the Houthis. So this continues, it's clear that the operation to try to stop these attacks on shipping in the Red Sea is not yet done, but for which is seen at an important moment here.

This is the first time he's authorized military action as prime minister and now standing before his parliament to justify that he's likely to get questions on this from.

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