New this morning.
The U.S.
military Central Command now says U.S.
fighter aircraft
shot down an anti-ship cruise missile
that was fired at a U.S.
Navy destroyer
in the Red Sea
from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen.
And this comes just days after the U.S.
and the U.K.
launched strikes against Houthi targets
in Yemen.
The militant group vowed to retaliate.
CNN's Oren
Liebermann is joining us right now
from the Pentagon.
Oren, we're now learning, what,
that another ship was hit by a missile
just off the coast of Yemen.
What's the latest?
We have seen more launches
since the incident on Sunday
in which a U.S.
fighter jets shot down a cruise missile
that was fired at a U.S.
destroyer in the Red Sea.
We've just learned from U.S.
Central Command
that there was a ballistic missile
fired against a U.S.
owned and operated vessel.
The Central Command
did not say exactly where this happened,
but the U.K.
Maritime Security
Organization said that this happened
south of Yemen.
The missile fired by the Houthies
struck the M.V.
Gibraltar Eagle,
a Marshall Islands, flagged US
owned and operated boat carrier
that was traveling
through the Red Sea,
obviously one of the world's
most critical waterways.
Now, according to U.S. Central Command.
There was minor damage to the ship
and no injuries.
And crucially here,
the ship itself
remained seaworthy,
which is that it continued on its way
as part of its voyage.
But, of course,
the Houthis had promised to retaliate.
They said that any U.S. or U.K.
asset was a legitimate target.
So this perhaps part of the retaliation
and the response
that the Houthis had promised
against the much more widespread U.S.
and U.K.
strikes that we saw on Thursday evening,
worth pointing out that the U.S.
then carried out a follow on strike.
24 hours later,
the Pentagon in the White House
had expected a U.S. response.
This may be part of it,
but the expectation is
there will be something
frankly, bigger, broader
and more powerful
coming from the Houthis.
Still,
this is now the third or fourth
launch we've seen from Houthi territory
following the U.S. strikes.
Makes clear that the Houthis retain
and still have quite
a bit of military capability
to try to threaten Red Sea shipping here.
The U.S., the U.K.
and the other coalition,
they're trying to safeguard
that shipping to make the waterway safe.
Wolf, I think with what
you see here
playing out over the last 24 hours,
it is impossible to say
that the waterway is safe
at this point, even as the U.S.
tries to get there.
Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon for us.
It looks like this
situation is escalating.
Big time indeed.
Thanks very, very much.
All right.
We're taking you now
to the House of Commons, where
we're hearing Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak speaking. Let's listen in.
They fired on our ships and our sailors.
It was the biggest attack
on the Royal Navy for decades.
And so we acted.
We did so in self-defense, consistent
with the UN charter
and to uphold freedom of navigation.
As Britain has always done
alongside the United States, with support
from Australia, Bahrain, Canada
and the Netherlands,
we ordered the RAAF to strike to hit
military facilities in Yemen.
I want to be clear
that these were limited strikes.
They were carefully targeted
at launch sites for drones
and ballistic missiles
to discredit,
to degrade the Hutt's capacity
to make further attacks
on international shipping.
I can tell the House today
that our initial assessment
is that all
13 planned targets were destroyed.
The drone and cruise missile
base in Bali, nine
buildings were successfully hit.
A further
three buildings were hit that airfield
along with a cruise missile
launcher caught in the open.
We have seen no evidence
thus far of civilian casualties
which we took great care to avoid.
I know the whole house will join me
in paying tribute
to the incredible bravery
and professionalism
of all our servicemen and women
The need to maximize the security
and effectiveness of the operation
meant that it was not possible
to bring this matter
to the House in advance.
But we took care to brief members
before the strikes took place.
Including you, of course, Mr.
Speaker, and the Leader
of the Opposition.
And I've come to the House
at the earliest possible opportunity Mr.
Speaker,
I do not take decisions
on the use of force lightly.
That's why
I stress
that this action
was taken in self-defense.
It was limited, not escalatory.
It was a necessary
and proportionate response
to a direct threat to UK vessels
and therefore to the UK itself.
And, Mr.
Speaker, let me be absolutely clear
why the Royal Navy is in the Red Sea.
They are
there as part of Operation
Prosperity Guardian
protecting freedom of navigation
as a fundamental tenet
of international law.
The Houthis attack on
international shipping
have put innocent lives at risk.
They have held one crew hostage
for almost two months,
and they are causing
growing economic disruption.
Global commerce cannot operate
under such conditions.
Containers and tankers
are having to take a 5000 mile detour
around the Cape of Good Hope
that pushes up prices and imperils
the passage of goods, foods and medicines
that the British
people and others rely on.
We have attempted to resolve this
through diplomacy
after numerous international calls
to the attacks to stop.
A coalition of countries
gave the Houthis
a clear
and unambiguous warning two weeks ago.
Last week, the UN Security
Council passed a resolution
condemning the attacks
and highlighting the right of nations
to defend their vessels
and preserve freedom of navigation.
Yet
the Houthis continued on their reckless
path.
Mr. Speaker, we shouldn't fall
for their malign narrative
that this is about Israel and Gaza.
They target ships from around the world.
We continue to work
towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza
and to get more aid to civilians.
We also continue to support
a negotiated settlement
in Yemen's civil war.
But I want to be very clear
that this action
is completely unrelated to those issues.
It is a direct response
to the Houthis attacks
on international shipping
And we should
also recognize the risks of inaction.
It would weaken international security
and the rule of law
further damage freedom of navigation
in the global economy
and send a dangerous message
that British vessels
and British interests are set again.
And there is another point here
which is often overlooked.
The Houthis attack risks
worsening the dire
humanitarian situation in Yemen itself.
The UK helps to feed around 100,000
Yemenis every month,
with aid arriving via
the very sea routes
that the Houthis have in their sights.
So, Mr.
Speaker, the threats to shipping
must cease
illegally detained vessels
and Cruise must be released.
And we remain prepared to back our words
with actions
British Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak there
speaking at the House of Commons,
committing to more aid for Ukraine
and talking about that if Putin wins,
he will not stop there.
But importantly, Rishi
Sunak also took us through.
The US led coalition to strike back
Houthi assets in Yemen to try and ease
what we've been seeing over the past
few weeks
and frankly
since the war began
between Israel and Gaza,
the disruption of trade and vessels
attacking vessels
by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
He says that this was all a part
of a defense strategy
and also saying that
he couldn't take this decision
to the House of Commons
because it was a security risk we've got.
Sebastian following developments
for us from London.
Claire, we've been hearing now for Mr.
Sunak important messaging coming through,
also justifying
why the UK was involved in this,
a US led strike in Yemen,
justifying this, saying
it is important
to try
and figure out a way
to secure that Red Sea Line
and the Royal Navy, important parts
of that.
Yeah, I
think you've got
a measure of the delicate ness of this
this action
in this operation, in the language
that he used.
He stressed
that it was limited,
that it was proportionate,
specifically saying not escalatory.
This is what the US
led coalition is grappling
with how to deter
and degrade
the Houthis capabilities to continue
to attack
shipping in the Red Sea while not
creating another flashpoint.
Another potential front
in the Middle East,
which is, of course,
one of the biggest fears
that the West has alongside, of course,
the war between Israel and Gaza.
So he said that their initial assessment
of the UK action
is that all 13 planned target were hit.
The US has said
that they are also still assessing
the effectiveness
of what happened last week,
how effective it was in
degrading the Houthis actions.
And I think, you know, case in point,
just about an hour or so
before we should see that
came out and made that statement,
we got reports coming in that
the US Central Command
is now confirms to that a who
the anti-ship
ballistic missile
struck a US owned and operated vessel
just off
Aden in Yemen in the Gulf of air.
And that is not adjacent
to who do controlled areas in Yemen,
but it does
fit a pattern in
the US
is now attributing that to the Houthis.
So this continues,
it's clear
that the operation
to try to stop these attacks
on shipping
in the Red Sea is not yet done,
but for which is seen at
an important moment here.
This is the first time he's authorized
military action
as prime minister
and now standing before his parliament
to justify
that he's likely to
get questions on this from.