<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">An Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Arabian Sea. The attack caused a fire on the Liberian-flagged chemical products tanker. It was extinguished without any crew casualties. The incident happened 200 km southwest of Veraval, India.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">The attacks on shipping started off since the Israel-Hamas war began. This has prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vessels around the southern tip of Africa, despite the higher fuel costs of much longer voyages.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">The Houthi rebels have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries, according to the Pentagon.</p>