MORE than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces, said the Pentagon reports Agence France-Presse.
The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels with missile strikes in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is at war with the Gazan territorial authority Hamas.
But shipping companies remain in the dark over what this naval force plans to do, Reuters reports.
A Spanish fashion industry source said shipping lines were telling customers a lot was riding on the US-led task force and whether it can prevent more attacks and make the route safe again.
It is critical that European companies are able to use the Suez Canal again to ensure supplies of clothes from Asia, the industry source said.
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,' said Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder.
'We've had over 20 nations now sign on to participate' in the coalition, said General Ryder as he called on the Houthis to cease their attacks.
General Ryder said the Houthis are 'attacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world,' effectively becoming 'bandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea.'
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.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a cross-border raid on October 7 that killed 1,140 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel began a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, which Gaza's Hamas government said has killed at least 20,000 people.
SeaNews Turkey
The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels with missile strikes in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is at war with the Gazan territorial authority Hamas.
But shipping companies remain in the dark over what this naval force plans to do, Reuters reports.
A Spanish fashion industry source said shipping lines were telling customers a lot was riding on the US-led task force and whether it can prevent more attacks and make the route safe again.
It is critical that European companies are able to use the Suez Canal again to ensure supplies of clothes from Asia, the industry source said.
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,' said Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder.
'We've had over 20 nations now sign on to participate' in the coalition, said General Ryder as he called on the Houthis to cease their attacks.
General Ryder said the Houthis are 'attacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world,' effectively becoming 'bandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea.'
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.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a cross-border raid on October 7 that killed 1,140 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel began a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, which Gaza's Hamas government said has killed at least 20,000 people.
SeaNews Turkey
