The drone exploded and damaged the ship, but caused no casualties to the crew
The attack came in the middle of a truce. Pic/AP
A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday. The attack Friday on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the weeks-long war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict, even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The defense official said on condition of anonymity that the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew. “We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official said. The official declined to elaborate on what intelligence the US military gathered to assess Iran was behind the attack.
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CMA CGM, a major shipper based in Marseille, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the vessel’s crew had been behaving as though they believed the ship faced a threat.
The ship had its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off since Tuesday when it left Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, according to data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP. Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons, but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted. It had done the same earlier when travelling through the Red Sea past Yemen, home to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Symi is owned by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.
Also read: France detains Nice’s Atal for Israel-Hamas war message
In the Israel-Hamas war, which began with the militants’ October 7 attack, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship in the Red Sea off Yemen. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq also have launched attacks on American troops in both Iraq and Syria during the war, though Iran itself has yet to be linked directly to an attack.
Emotional reunions witnessed as Hamas hostages released
Emotional scenes unfolded as Israeli children and women, held captive by Hamas militants in Gaza for a gruelling 49 days, were released and finally reunited with their families under a Qatar, Egyptian and US brokered deal. Ohad Munder, 9, in a video released by Schneider Children’s Medical Centre (SCMC) can be seen running and hugging his father in a tight embrace for the first time since he was released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on Friday.
Ohad was freed along with his 55-year-old mother Keren Munder, and 78-year-old grandmother Ruti Munder. Ruti’s husband Avraham Munder still remains in Gaza in Hamas’ custody. Emilia Alony, 5, who was released with her mother Danielle as part of a temporary cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel, was reunited with her grandma. In photos released by the SCMS, Emilia can be seen in a tight embrace with her grandmother. SCMC has made special arrangements for the hostages being released, arranging for all possible things to make them switch to normal surroundings.
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, wounding 5 civilians
An inhabitant of an apartment sorts through broken glass after the drone attack on Kyiv’s residential buildings. Pic/AFP
Russia launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine on Saturday morning since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, military officials said. “Kyiv was the main target,” wrote Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, on his Telegram channel. In total, Russia launched around 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine, of which 71 were destroyed by air defense, Ukraine’s armed forces said.
The attack was “the most massive air attack by drones on Kyiv,” said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, noting that air defense shot down more than 60 air targets over the capital throughout the morning.
The assault on Kyiv began at 4 am local time, continuing in waves for over six hours, and caused power outages in 77 residential buildings and 120 institutions. At least five civilians were wounded in the hours-long drone assault on Kyiv, which saw several buildings damaged, including a kindergarten.
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