Increased vigilance internationally.
France is strengthening its military presence in the seas of the Middle East, a third military ship having been sent to the area to ensure “maritime security” missions, the French general staff announced on Thursday.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, Yemen's Houthi rebels have regularly fired in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on ships they consider linked to to Israel, in “solidarity” with the Palestinians of Gaza.
The dispatch of the third ship, the frigate L'Alsace “responds to the surveillance of attacks against commercial ships.
This is the contribution to all initiatives in the region, such as Prosperity Guardian, named after a US-led coalition in the Red Sea to defend freedom of maritime movement, said a spokesperson for the staff during a press briefing.
Alsace “crossed the Suez Canal last week to reach the Red Sea to carry out maritime security missions”, the same source.
Tension rises in the Middle East
Another frigate, La Languedoc, which has shot down several drones fired by the Houthis since December, will now patrol the Gulf of Aden, the spokesperson said.
A large supply boat, the Jacques Chevallier, also located in the area - which goes from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and passing through the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, Editor's note -, three French military ships are therefore mobilized in these sensitive waters.
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The conflict between Israel and Hamas is exacerbating regional tensions between Israel and its American ally on the one hand, and Iran and its backers such as Lebanese Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthi rebels and Iraqi militias on the other.
Frequent Houthi fire against foreign ships contributes to slowing international trade, while around 12% of global maritime freight normally passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which controls access to the southern Red Sea.
Since the start of their attacks, the number of containers has fallen by 70% in the area, according to maritime experts.