The Houthis are having an effect
Insurers shun US, UK and Israeli vessels transiting the Red Sea as security situation worsens
A growing number of insurers are refusing to cover American, British, and Israeli vessels against war risks in the Red Sea as attacks from Houthi rebels continue. (Houthis say they will continue their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea despite US terror designation)
The hesitation from insurers comes as US officials have warned American merchant ships to steer clear of the vital waterway until further notice. “Some insurers are no longer willing to underwrite war-risk insurance for vessels with ownership or involvement with the US, UK or Israel traveling through the Red Sea,” said Marcus Baker, the global head of marine, cargo and logistics at Marsh, the insurance brokerage and risk advisory unit of Marsh McLennan.
A US-owned and operated cargo ship was hit by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Monday, according to US Central Command. A Houthi official vowed on Wednesday that attacks on “Israeli-linked” vessels in the Red Sea as well as the Arabian Sea will continue. Although not all insurers are imposing restrictions, Baker said the insurance market is clearly “tightening” and rates could continue to surge.
War-risk rates have spiked from just 0.01% of vessel value in early December to 0.7% today, Baker said. That means the cost to insure a $100 million container ship has spiked from $10,000 per voyage to $700,000 today.
Israel says captives not killed in air raid, after mother claims military poisoned her son
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-17/ty-article/.premium/idf-says-not-clear-how-three-hostages-died-but-they-may-have-been-poisoned-or-suffocated/0000018d-17f5-dd75-addd-f7f5e2e10000
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-remains-of-recovered-hostages-show-they-were-not-killed-in-airstrike/
The Israeli military has said that the bodies of two captives recovered from Gaza prove that they were not killed in an Israeli air raid, countering an initial statement by Hamas. Israeli media outlets reported on Wednesday that the Israeli military presented the families of Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer with a report stating that their bodies showed no signs of trauma or gunfire.
However, the military did not offer an explanation for their cause of death, which has aroused debate within Israel.
Sherman’s mother, Maayan, has accused the Israeli military of killing her son by filling the tunnel he was in with poisonous gas. “Ron was kidnapped because of the criminal negligence of all the senior officials of the army and the damned government who gave the order to eliminate him in order to settle a score with some terrorist from Jabalia,” she said in a social media post, adding that her son had been buried by the Israeli military in a “poison grave”.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221011-historians-reveal-israels-use-of-poison-against-palestinians/
Israeli newspapers also accused Hamas of using poison gas on Oct 7
https://www.jns.org/hamas-used-toxic-gas-to-kill-idf-observers/
