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April 27th, 2024 | 7:25 PM ET

Red Sea Strikes Spark Fear of a Wider War

Posted: January 24th, 2024

By The Cipher Brief

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — The Red Sea conflict may not yet be a ‘war’, but experts say it looks to be trending in that direction. The Houthis have launched more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since November, in a campaign that the group says is being waged to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. U.S. and British forces carried out fresh strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday, the eighth such attack by the U.S. and the second by the U.K. in a month-long series of retaliatory strikes. So, is the region headed for a wider war?

Almost immediately after Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza, there was growing concern that spillover attacks would spread the conflict well beyond the confines of the Gaza Strip. It was understood that a ‘wider war’ could involve one or more of the regional proxy groups that draw their support from Iran.

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Categorized as:Middle East ReportingTagged with:

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