These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.
The Houthis have also mounted a campaign targeting international commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea demanding an end to the Gaza war.
2023
On 8 October 2023, the day after the October 7 attacks, 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 , the group includes the cruiser , and the destroyers , , and .
On 19 October 2023, US officials said the United States Navy destroyer shot down three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones heading toward Israel launched by the Houthis in Yemen. This was the first action by the US military to defend Israel since the outbreak of the war. It was later reported that the ship shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones. Another missile was reportedly intercepted by Saudi Arabia. More were intercepted by Israel's Arrow anti-ballistic missiles; others fell short of their targets or were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force and the French Navy.
The Houthis continued attacking Israel with UAVs and missiles over the following months. A US MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi air defences on 8 November; the Pentagon previously said that MQ-9 drones were flying over Gaza in an intelligence gathering role to aid in the hostage recovery efforts. On 9 November, the Houthis fired a missile toward the city of Eilat. The missile was intercepted by an Arrow 3 missile, marking the first time it was used in an interception.
On 30 November, Saudi media reported that an Israeli airstrike caused an explosion at a Houthi arms depot in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. Houthi officials denied the report, stating that a gas station was hit instead. A member of the Houthis' political bureau, Hezam al-Asad, said that the explosion was caused by the remnants of a bomb left over from the Yemeni civil war.
On 14 December, India initiated Operation Sankalp to ensure the security of the regional maritime domain. The destroyer was stationed in the Gulf of Aden for maritime security on 18 December. The destroyer was already deployed in the region to counter Somali pirates, although the Government of India remained silent about its involvement in Operation Prosperity Guardian. By 21 December, the port of Eilat, which gives Israel via the Red Sea its only easy shipping access to Asia without the need to transit the Suez Canal, had seen an 85% drop in activity due to the Houthi action. On 26 December, India deployed the destroyers and in the Arabian Sea after an Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck off the Indian coast. The navy was investigating the nature of the attack on the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, which docked in Mumbai on Monday, and initial reports pointed to a drone attack, a navy statement said. The Pentagon said on Saturday that a drone launched from Iran struck the Chem Pluto in the Indian Ocean. The Foreign Ministry of Iran denied the US accusations and called them "baseless". The vessel's crew included 21 Indians and 1 Vietnamese citizen.
2024
On 4 January, just hours after warning, Houthis launched an unmanned surface vessel (USV) towards US Navy and commercial vessels, but it detonated well over from the ships. On 7 January, the Houthi movement stated that retaliatory attacks against the US Navy would continue unless the US handed over the Navy service members who killed the 10 Houthi attack boat personnel for them to stand trial in Yemen. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Navy deployed two s, and Taimur in the Arabian Sea following "recent incidents of maritime security."
On 10 January, a large-scale attack was initiated by the Houthis against , , , and , in which at least 21 UAVs and missiles were launched. On 11 January, US Navy SEALs raided a ship off the coast of Somalia which was bound for the Houthi militants. Iranian-made missile components and other weapons, including air defense parts, were seized from the ship. The ship was then sunk and its crew of 14 people detained. Two SEALs were killed in the mission.
On 12 January, the US and UK conducted airstrikes against over a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen with the support of multiple other countries, just hours after the group's leader vowed that any American attack on its forces would "not go without a response". The strikes were the first time Houthi targets in Yemen were targeted since the beginning of the Red Sea crisis.The Houthis said five of their fighters were killed and six others were injured.
On 21 January, the French frigate Alsace joined defence operations in the Red Sea after transiting through the Suez Canal, reinforcing French assets deployed in the area in the face of Houthi attacks against international shipping. On 24 January, Houthis claimed to have attacked US destroyers and other warships in the Red Sea. This attack supposed to be in response to Operation Poseidon Archer. Houthi claimed to have directly hit a US destroyer with a missile during the attack. This attack was denied by the United States government. On the night of 26 to 27 January, the came to the aid of an oil tanker on fire in the Gulf of Aden, alongside Indian and American destroyers and . The fire suffered by the Marlin Luanda tanker was caused by a missile fired from Yemen. It was brought under control after 20 hours, with no casualties sustained.
On 29 January, Danish frigate departed from the Korsør naval base for the Red Sea to assist the US-led coalition in safeguarding commercial traffic against Houthi attacks. On 31 January, top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell announced that the bloc plans to start a naval mission to protect merchant shipping in the Red Sea within the following three weeks, and officials stated that seven EU member states were prepared to provide military equipment. An adviser to Borrell stated that the mission's launch date should be 19 February. Borrell added that the mission would be called 'Aspides', which translates to 'protector'.
On 3 February, a day after conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the US and UK conducted strikes against 36 Houthi sites, which included underground facilities, UAV storage and operation sites, missile systems, radars, and helicopters in 13 different locations across Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen in an attempt to degrade their capabilities. Houthi official Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti stated that they would "meet escalation with escalation" in response to the bombings. Houthi official media stated that 17 fighters were killed during the airstrikes. On 8 February, the German frigate Hessen departed from Wilhelmshaven for the Red Sea with about 240 people on board in order to assist the upcoming Operation Aspides.
On 15 February, the US Army announced that the Coast Guard seized a vessel originating from Iran and was bound for Houthi-controlled Yemen on 28 January. The US Army said the vessel was carrying advanced weapons and other "lethal aid". It had more than 200 packages containing ballistic missile and naval drone components, explosives, communications gear, and anti-tank missile launcher parts. On 19 February, the European Union announced the start of the naval mission Operation Aspides, planning to send warships and provide early airborne warning systems to the Red Sea and surrounding waters. The launch was confirmed by Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani. France, Germany, Italy and Belgium all announced their intention to contribute to the operation. Operation Aspides is headquartered in Larissa, Greece. The operation is not allowed to attack pre-emptively, and will only fire on Houthis if they attack first. The operation only operates at sea, and does not conduct or participate in military strikes.
On 22 February, the Houthis' Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center sent statements to shipping insurers and firms announcing a formal ban on vessels owned or partially owned by Israeli, British, or American entities or individuals in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea. The ban also included vessels sailing under the flags of the mentioned nations. Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi also said in a statement that operations in the Red Sea and surrounding waters were continuing, escalating and effective, and announced the introduction of "submarine weapons" without giving further details.
On 26 February, damages were reported to Red Sea undersea communications cables. Initial reports by industry sources, African press, and Israeli press, tied this to Houthi attacks that was predicted by international press, while Seacom was unable to confirm the cause, they later confirmed the location of the damage to be in Yemeni maritime jurisdictions. Press releases by Seacom and Flag Telecom were describing the difficulty of repair due to the crisis in shipping. Houthi leaders denied involvement. The same day, Greece approved a decision to send the Greek frigate Hydra to the Red Sea to assist Operation Aspides. Also on 26 February, the German frigate Hessen launched two SM-2 missiles at an American Reaper drone in a friendly fire incident. The missiles missed their target, falling into the sea.
On 4 March, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said that vessels entering Yemeni waters would need a permit from the Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs Authority. Meanwhile, INS Kolkata, deployed to the Gulf of Aden, responded to a request from MSC Sky II, a Liberian flagged container vessel, that had reportedly been attacked. On 8 March, Finland announced they will send up to five officers to the Operation Aspides mission and up to two soldiers to take part in the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian. The Royal Netherlands Navy also confirmed the same day that it would be sending the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate to the Red Sea. The frigate would be a part of Operation Prosperity Guardian but also support Operation Aspides.
On 14 March, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the Houthis claimed to have a hypersonic missile. On 21 March, Bloomberg reported that the Houthis reached a deal with Russia and China, agreeing to provide safe passage for vessels under their jurisdiction in exchange for political support. The IDF also announced on the same day that it intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" approaching Israeli territory over the Red Sea.
On 28 March, several Russian Pacific Fleet warships navigated into the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the Russian cruiser Varyag and the Russian frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov according to Zvezda. This was reportedly after the Houthis made a political deal with Russia and China, allowing them safe passage possibly in exchange for blocking resolutions at the UN Security Council.
On 3 April, Danish chief of defense Flemming Lentfer was fired after failing to report flaws regarding air defenses and weapons systems aboard the Ivar Huitfeldt frigate which emerged after a Houthi attack in March, when the frigate's air defenses failed while engaging with Houthis. A problem also occurred with the frigate's ammunition system, which caused half of the rounds it fired to detonate before hitting their target. Tim Lenderking, the United States special envoy for Yemen, meanwhile stated that he hoped to achieve a diplomatic solution with the Yemeni Houthis in regard to their attacks, and that the US would consider removing the Houthis from its designated terrorist list if they ceased their attacks.