The FREMM-class frigate Languedoc of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) shot down two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles late on Saturday. The UAVs were moving towards the frigate from the coast of Yemen, the General Staff of National Defence in Paris announced today.

As tensions in this strategically important maritime area continue to escalate, the interception and destruction of the two threats took place at 22:30 and 00:30 (Greece time) 110 kilometers from the coast of Yemen near Hodaida, it is clarified in a press release.

Last week, a US destroyer shot down three drones and provided assistance to three merchant ships that were targeted by attacks from Yemen, according to Washington, which denounced an immediate threat to maritime security.

The Houthi rebels of Yemen threatened yesterday Saturday to attack any vessel passing through the Red Sea and sailing towards Israel, if the humanitarian aid in need is not distributed to the population of the Gaza Strip.

The Shiite rebels, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and most of the country’s north, are part of what has been called an “axis of resistance” against Israel, along with organizations such as the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, supported by Iran.

In a statement on social networking sites, the Houthi announced that they would block the passage of ships headed for the “Zionist entity” if the residents of the Palestinian enclave, which has been bombarded by Israel for over two months, did not receive humanitarian aid, mainly food, and medicine.

The threat comes against a backdrop of rapidly escalating tensions in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

With information from: APA MPA, AFP

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