Red Sea crisis Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Red Sea crisis

Part of the spillover of the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis

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, 2 months and 3 days)
Location	Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (esp. Bab-el-Mandeb), southern Israel, and Saudi Arabia and Egypt
Status	Ongoing

The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Ansar Allah (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 and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.

The Houthi movement's militants, who oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, have since 2014 controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea. Shortly after the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, the Hamas-allied group began to launch missiles and drones at Israel. Houthi militants have also fired on various countries' merchant vessels in the Red Sea, and particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb—the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal of Egypt and therefore a chokepoint of the global economy. The group has declared that they will not stop until Israel ceases its war on Hamas.

The Houthis says they consider any Israel-linked ship as a target, including US and UK warships, but they have also indiscriminately attacked the ships of many nations. 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. Since 12 January, the US and UK have led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently patrolling the waters near Yemen, attacking Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. Undaunted, in May, Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier 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".

Red Sea crisis facts for kids

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