always be a last resort, and it certainly was in this case. we have sent an unambiguous message. what the houthis are doing is wrong and we are determined to put a stop to it." and this is what the houthi militia have been doing — targeting ships off the coast of yemen, sometimes boarding them. other vessels have been attacked with drones and missiles in what the group calls a show of support for palestinians in gaza. today marks the 100th day of the ongoing conflict between israel and hamas. yemen has a key strategic position in the middle east, especially when it comes to global shipping. the red sea shipping route typically looks like this. it's one of the busiest in the world, transporting 15% of traded goods, largely from east to west. but because of the houthi attacks, many major shipping firms have diverted around southern africa. it takes ten days longer, adding $1 million to the fuel costs of an average container ship. yemen may be thousands