Beirut: Human Rights Watch said recent Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden likely amount to war crimes.

According to National News Agency - Lebanon, the rights organization said the attacks followed the Houthis' July 20, 2026 announcement of a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in response to what they described as a Saudi air and naval blockade of Yemen. According to HRW, the latest attacks targeted at least two Saudi-flagged vessels, as well as ships flying the flags of Tanzania and Dominica. "Attacks on civilians or civilian objects, if carried out deliberately or recklessly, constitute war crimes," the organization said.

HRW Yemen and Bahrain researcher Niku Jafarnia said the Houthis were once again putting seafarers' lives at risk by attacking commercial vessels, this time in the context of their conflict with the Saudi-led coalition. She called on the Houthis to "immediately and unconditionally" end all unlawful attacks on civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.