More than 20 countries joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon stated. The Iran-backed Houthis repeatedly attacked vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza. “We’ve had over 20 nations now sign on to participate” in the coalition, Pentagon spokesman Gen Pat Ryder told journalists. Coalition forces will “serve as a highway patrol of sorts, patrolling the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to, and assist as necessary, commercial vessels that are transiting this vital international waterway”, he said.
