Day 58 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 3

US forces shot down Houthi drones in the Red Sea as Israel's incursion into south Gaza expanded.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023

11:00 am: Pentagon says US warship, commercial vessels attacked in Red Sea

On Sunday, the Pentagon released a statement saying, “We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available.”

The Carney is a Navy destroyer that shot down an Iranian-made drone fired from Yemen just days ago. A US official speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity confirmed at the time that the USS Carney shot down the drone coming from Houthi-controlled territory, but could not say what the suspected target was, Jared Szuba reports.

The Pentagon’s statement followed reports earlier Sunday of a drone attack on a British ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. 

10:06 am: British ship reportedly hit by drone attack in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Sunday there were reports of a drone attack on a British ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Maritime security company Ambrey commented on the incident later in the day, writing, “A British Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier was reportedly attacked by rocket fire while crossing the Red Sea, approximately 34.5 km [21.4 miles] west-northwest of Mocha, Yemen.”

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