A missile attack by Yemen`s Houthi rebels set a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, officials said, wounding two mariners and forcing its crew to abandon the damaged vessel. It was the most serious attack in the Gulf of Aden, some distance from the Red Sea where the Iranian-backed Houthis sank two vessels in July. While the rebels did not claim the assault on the Minervagracht, they had threatened to strike ships as part of their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, particularly as Israel squeezes in on Gaza City in a new ground offensive.

Meanwhile, the Mideast also remains on edge after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. The Minervagracht had been targeted on September 23 in an unsuccessful attack in the Gulf of Aden, which connects to the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. On Monday, a missile launch seen by some in Yemen apparently struck the Minervagracht. Spliethoff, the ship`s owner, described the strike as "inflicting substantial damage to the ship."