Timeline of the Red Sea crisis

These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.



Regional conflict
On 8 October 2023, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in response. Along with the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the group includes the cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), and the destroyers USS Carney, USS Ramage, USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) and USS Thomas Hudner.

On 19 October 2023 Carney intercepted three cruise missiles and eight drones launched by the Houthi militants in Yemen. While the real targets of the cruise missiles and drones were uncertain, the missiles and drones were shot down by Carney as the missiles and the drones were headed north along the Red Sea in the direction of Israel during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Reports showed that Carney actually encountered a larger and more sustained barrage than was previously known on that day after it shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours.

On 8 November 2023 an American MQ-9 Reaper was shot down off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea by Houthi forces. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh later stated in a press conference that the Houthis later attempted to recover the drone but that the Pentagon believed that they would be unable to recover anything of significance and that U.S. forces were not looking to recover it themselves.

On 22 November 2023 Thomas Hudner shot down multiple drones launched by Houthi groups. On 26 November 2023 Houthi forces tried to seize an Israeli-affiliated ship near the coast of Yemen.

On 3 December 2023 Carney and civilian-owned commercial ships were attacked in international waters in the southern Red Sea, with anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Missiles struck three commercial ships, while Carney shot down three drones in self-defense during the hours-long assault. The United States Central Command said: "We ... have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.

On 7 December 2023 the US announced it would impose sanctions on 13 individuals and entities whom it claimed are funding the Houthis.

On 14 December 2023 Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Defense Minister of Iran, said that any naval coalition formed by the US would face major problems.

On 16 December 2023, while operating in the Red Sea, Carney successfully shot down a barrage of 14 unmanned aerial system (UAS) one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Also on 16 December, Hong Kong shipping company OOCL announced that it had suspended its shipments in and out of Israel, due to the surging threat of attack on commercial ships while traversing the Red Sea.

On 19 December 2023 US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the US had formed a coalition of ten nations who would send ships to assist in fighting against attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

On 21 December 2023, Defence Minister of Greece Nikos Dendias announced in a televised address that Greece will join the US-led coalition.

On 21 December 2023, the US announced that more than twenty countries have joined the coalition.

On 25 December 2023, the US carried out air strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq.

On 26 December 2023, the Indian Navy sent the destroyers INS Kochi and Kolkata to the Gulf of Aden, in response to an attack on a cargo vessel near the coast of India.

On 28 December 2023, sanctions were imposed upon several entities by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which said that these entities had helped to convey financial aid from Iran to Houthi forces located in the region of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

On 31 December 2023, the container ship Maersk Hangzhou issued distress call after coming under attack from four Iran-backed small Houthi ships. Several shots were fired at the Maersk Hangzhou and attempts to board were made. However, a contracted security team aboard the container ship returned fire and defended Maersk Hangzhou.The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and destroyer USS Gravely responded to the distress call as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. Verbal commands were issued to the four small ships, and helicopters from the Dwight D. Eisenhower were dispatched. After taking small arms fire, US Navy helicopters returned fire, sinking three of the small ships. There was no damage to US equipment or personnel.

On 10 January 2024, the UK defence secretary stated that UK and US naval forces pushed back the largest attack to date from Houthi rebels.

On 12 January 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said that if Yemen is attacked by the US and UK, "we will attack the Americans' base with everything in our power". This attack was the beginning of Operation Poseidon Archer.

Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean 2023–2024
The following tables largely cover the maritime engagements of the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in support of the Hamas-led coalition in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, and of the Palestinian cause more generally.

May 2024
On 3 May 2024, the Houthi-aligned Yemeni Armed Forces SPC military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced the expansion of their campaign to the targeting of ships in the eastern Mediterranean bound for Israel. in a televised speech, Saree stated that "We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach".