2026

CAIRO (AP) — A cargo ship came under attack Sunday off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, the British military said, the latest maritime attack off the conflict-torn Arab country.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the attack off Hodeida city, which is under control of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The UKMTO said the ship reported being “under attack by unknown armed assailants” 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) southwest of Hodeida.

A skiff approached the bulk carrier and opened fire, forcing security guards to return fire, before sailing back to a larger ship about 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) away with its automatic identification system switched off, the UKMTO said.

The cargo ship and crew were reported safe, the British military said, adding that authorities were investigating.

No group immediately claimed the attack.

The Houthis have threatened to begin attacking ships again. A Houthi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rebels previously fired drones and missiles at ships that pass territory they control near the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. Their attacks during the Gaza war forced shipping companies to reroute vessels around the southern tip of Africa instead of through the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Somali pirates also have been active further away in the Gulf of Aden recently.

Suspected pirates attacked a vessel 76 nautical miles (140 kilometers) south of the port town of Balhaf in southeastern Yemen on July 1. Four armed men on a small craft caused minor damage to the ship’s bridge, according to the UKMTO.

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian doctor who was seized by Israeli forces 18 months ago said his client has been abused in captivity and is in critical condition, according to the human rights group representing him.

Hussam Abu Safiya who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became the face of health workers struggling to treat patients throughout the Israel-Hamas war.

He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help before he was arrested in December 2024. He has not been charged.

The Israeli military said Abu Safiya, 53, was being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. Staff and international aid groups that worked with him deny the claims.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, said Abu Safiya appeared extremely weak and struggled to sit upright during a visit on July 2. Odeh said he had recent head injuries around his eyes, ears and neck and experienced difficulty breathing.

Odeh and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said they have petitioned to have Abu Safiya transferred to another facility.

Abu Safiya faced physical and psychological abuse and was kept in solitary confinement for extended periods, Odeh said following an appearance before Israel’s Supreme Court last month challenging his continued detainment without charge.

Abu Safiya appeared briefly by video during that hearing, looking pale and gaunt and with lash-like marks on both arms.

Israel’s Prison Service called the allegations “false and entirely without factual basis.” The prison service declined to discuss the case directly, citing privacy concerns, but said all prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law and receive medical care based on Ministry of Health guidelines.

“The Israel Prison Service rejects allegations of abuse, torture, starvation, or denial of medical treatment,” the prison service said.

Israel has faced severe criticism over its treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the start of its war with Hamas in October 2023. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have alleged systematic patterns of abuse.

The number of Palestinians in Israeli detention surged after the start of the war and thousands remain in detention. The Associated Press has previously reported on the dire conditions in prisons.

The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, after the Gaza-based militant group led an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. Since then, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

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Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

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