US intelligence agencies have warned that Russia could arm Houthi militants in Yemen with advanced anti-ship missiles. Moscow is said to be renewing an effort to arm the Houthis after the US gave Ukraine permission to attack Russian territory with US-supplied weapons. Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, urged a stepped-up “whole of government” effort against the Houthis in his letter to Austin. Washington has sought help from a third country to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin not to join Iran in supplying weapons to the Houthis, US officials said. Meanwhile, the leader of the far-right Likud party appeared to mock the victim of the overnight drone strike in Tel Aviv carried out by Houthi rebels. Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit and damaged a Singapore-flagged container ship with two missiles on July 19 as they stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

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