Red Sea crisis

Red Sea crisis
	Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present), and the Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
	; Map of Houthi activity near the Yemeni coast:; Houthi-controlled Yemen (SPC); Government of Yemen (PLC); Houthi attacks (red) and hijackings (blue)
Date	19 October 2023 – present; (1 year, 8 months and 1 day)
Location	Red Sea, Gulf of Aden (esp. Bab-el-Mandeb), Arabian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Yemen
Status	Ongoing Bankruptcy of the Port of Eilat; Disruption of international maritime trade and supply chain; Beginning of Operation Sankalp on 14 December 2023; Beginning of Operation Prosperity Guardian on 18 December 2023; Missile strikes against Houthi-controlled territory started in January 2024; Beginning of Operation Aspides on 19 February 2024; Intensification of US airstrikes in March 2025; Ceasefire between the US and Houthis;
Belligerents
Houthi Yemen Houthis; Axis of Resistance Iran; Hezbollah; Islamic Resistance in Iraq; ;	Israel Prosperity Guardian: United States ; United Kingdom ; Australia ; Bahrain ; Canada ; Denmark ; New Zealand ; Norway ; Seychelles ; Singapore ; Sri Lanka; Aspides: European Union Belgium; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Italy; Latvia; Netherlands; Sweden; ; Independent Patrols: China ; Egypt ; India ; Pakistan ; Saudi Arabia;
Commanders and leaders
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi; Mohamed al-Atifi; Mahdi al-Mashat; Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour;	Benjamin Netanyahu; Israel Katz; Eyal Zamir; Donald Trump; Pete Hegseth; Joe Biden; Lloyd Austin; Keir Starmer; Rishi Sunak;
Units involved
	See order of battle
Strength
Yemeni Armed Forces (SPC); 1 Alvand-class frigate; 1 Intel ship	Naval assets: 2 Sa'ar 6-class corvettes ; 1 Sa'ar 5-class corvette ; 1 Nimitz-class aircraft carrier ; 1 Ticonderoga-class cruiser ; 1 Ohio-class submarine ; 6 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers ; 1 Wasp-class amphibious assault ship ; 2 FREMM multipurpose frigates ; 1 Horizon-class frigate ; 2 Orizzonte-class destroyer ; 2 FREMM multipurpose frigates ; 2 Type 45 destroyers ; 2 Type 23 frigates ; 1 Sachsen-class frigate ; 1 Karel Doorman-class frigate ; 2 Hydra-class frigates ; 1 Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate ; 1 De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate ; 1 Hamilton-class patrol boat ; 3 Kolkata-class destroyers ; 2 Visakhapatnam-class destroyers ; 2 Talwar-class frigates ; 2 Tughril-class frigates ; 2 Zulfiquar-class frigates ; 1 Yarmook-class corvette ; 1 Type 052D-class destroyer ; 1 Type 054A-class frigate ;
Casualties and losses
Per Houthis: ; 122 killed; 314 injured; Per Sky News Arabia & PLC-led government:; 207+ killed 14 detained	3 killed; 3 injured; Unknown number of MQ-9 Reapers lost (23 per Houthis); 3 F/A-18 Super Hornets lost
	1 Vietnamese, 3 Filipino sailors killed and 8 injured; 2 Israeli civilians killed and at least 190 others injured; 1 WFP worker killed, 1 United Nations worker injured; At least 266 Yemeni civilians killed and 774 injured 68 African migrants killed, 47 injured; 3 Russian civilians injured; 6 Egyptian civilians wounded; 5 Palestinian civilians wounded
	Two ships have been hijacked by Houthi militants; one ship and 25 crew members remain in Houthi custody, while one ship has been released. At least 30 ships have been damaged by Houthi attacks. One UK-owned and one Greek-owned cargo ship sunk.

The Red Sea crisis (Arabic: أزمة البحر الأحمر) began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized or bombarded dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea and received hundreds of retaliatory air strikes by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Gaza war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.

Since 2014, the Houthis, who oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, have controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea. Shortly after the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Hamas-allied group began to launch missiles and drones at Israel. It has also fired on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb, the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal, damaging the global economy. The group has declared that it will not stop until Israel ceases the Gaza war.

The Houthis say that any Israel-linked ship is a target, including US and UK warships, but they have also indiscriminately attacked the ships of many nations with no connection to Israel. From October 2023 to March 2024, the Houthis attacked more than 60 vessels in the Red Sea. To avoid attack, hundreds of commercial vessels have been rerouted to sail around South Africa.

The Houthis' Red Sea attacks have drawn a military response from a number of countries. In January 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, condemning the Houthi attacks and affirming freedom of navigation. The United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched to protect Red Sea shipping. From 12 January, the US and UK led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently attacking Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. On 3 May, Yemeni General Yahya Saree said, "We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach". On 6 May, US President Donald Trump announced US strikes to be over as a result of a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis.