Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels boasted Wednesday of unleashing a cruise missile that set a Dutch cargo ship ablaze and left it drifting helplessly in the Gulf of Aden, spotlighting their expanding arsenal and unyielding solidarity with Palestinians amid the raging Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Monday strike on the Minervagracht marks the Houthis' most devastating hit yet in the Gulf of Aden—far from their Red Sea stronghold where they've already torpedoed four vessels since late 2023. Houthi mouthpiece Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree crowed that the missile slammed true, punishing the ship's Amsterdam owners at Spliethoff for allegedly flouting their blockade on "occupied Palestine" ports. While the U.S. Navy's Joint Maritime Information Center initially cleared the vessel of Israeli ties, a follow-up Tuesday flagged a deeper probe into potential connections.

Chaos erupted aboard the 600-foot freighter: Two crew members from a multinational roster of 19 Filipinos, Russians, Sri Lankans, and Ukrainians suffered injuries in the blast, forcing a frantic evacuation as flames ravaged the deck and hull. The EU's Operation Aspides naval task force swooped in for the rescue, confirming the ship was a floating inferno, adrift and abandoned by dawn Tuesday.

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This fiery ambush stretches the Houthis' hit list beyond the Red Sea chokehold that's rerouted $1 trillion in annual global trade. Over 100 vessels and even Israeli targets have felt the sting of Houthi drones and missiles since the Gaza war ignited, though many victims boast only whisper-thin—or zero—links to the Jewish state. The group's last Gulf of Aden commercial strike? A sleepy August 2024 potshot, making this a wake-up call on their reach.

Timing couldn't be pricklier: Israel's pounding a fresh Gaza City incursion, ceasefire whispers fading fast, while UN sanctions clamp back on Iran's nuclear ambitions, ratcheting regional nerves. The Houthis hit pause on sea and sky assaults during a fleeting Gaza truce, only to draw Trump's wrath in a blistering airstrike barrage—capped by a hard-won ceasefire declaration.

Yet the toll mounts: Eight sailors dead across the campaign, four ships to the seabed. As rescue tugs eye the smoldering Minervagracht and shippers reroute in dread, the Houthis' vow rings loud—Gaza's pain fuels their fire, and no ocean's too vast to scorch.

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