An Iranian-backed umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed an attack targeting the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. The militants are allied with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are suspected of attacking a ship in the Gulf of Aden early Wednesday. Shipping has reduced drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war rages in the Gaza Strip. International criticism is growing over Israel’s campaign against Hamas as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people, and abducted about 250.
