The Wall Street Journal reported that a United States Navy vessel returned fire this past weekend after two commercial vessels came under attack. 

According to the newspaper, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer called the USS Carney shot down a drone that had been launched by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed terror group that controls much of Yemen.

U.S. destroy came to the aid of a cargo ship

The incident occurred around the same time that a Bahamas-flagged, British-owned bulk cargo ship known as the MV Unity Explorer was targeted by ballistic missiles which landed close to it.

An unnamed U.S. official was quoted as saying that the Carney was responding to a distress call put out by the Unity Explorer when it detected and shot down a second drone.

The official went on to explain that additional drones were also shot down as other commercial ships came under attack.

The Houthis quickly put out a statement on the social media platform previously known as Twitter asserting that it had launched the attacks in retaliation for ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Houthis say strike was retaliation for Israeli military operations

"This morning, the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against two Israeli ships in Bab al-Mandab, namely the 'Unity Explorer' ship and the 'Number Nine' ship," it read.

بيانٌ صادرٌ عنِ القواتِ المسلحةِ اليمنية
بسمِ اللهِ الرحمنِ الرحيم
قال تعالى( { قَـٰتِلُوهُمۡ یُعَذِّبۡهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِأَیۡدِیكُمۡ وَیُخۡزِهِمۡ وَیَنصُرۡكُمۡ عَلَیۡهِمۡ وَیَشۡفِ صُدُورَ قَوۡمࣲ مُّؤۡمِنِینَ } صدق الله العظيم

تنفيذاً لتوجيهاتِ السيدِ القائدِ عبدِالملك بدرِالدين… pic.twitter.com/QjkAEbyF96

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) December 3, 2023

"The Yemeni armed forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red and Arab Seas until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops," the statement continued.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate what is stated in this statement and previous statements issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces," it went on to insist.

Houthis hijacked Israeli-linked ship last month

In a community note, platform users pointed out that the Houthis are not Yemen's recognized government and have been at war with the internationally recognized regime since 2014.

This is far from being the first time that the Houthis have gone after shipping in the Red Sea, as the movement is also believed to have been behind a hijacking there last month.

Fox News cited a defense official who said, "This has all the signs these people were trained by a professional military, which could clearly be Iran. This looks like something we haven’t seen before."

Fox News noted that the targeted vessel was the Galaxy Leader, a cargo vessel linked to Israeli billionaire Abraham "Rami" Ungar.