Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday that they were attempting to rescue a boat carrying 14 Indians near Zuqar island in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was rescuing a boat carrying 14 Indians that was attacked off Jabal Zuqar island near the strait, Reuters reported in its wider coverage of Thursday's Gulf escalation. Zuqar is one of the territories the Houthis seized in an advance in September, according to Reuters.

The allegation — and what is not confirmed

The Houthis blamed the attack on Saudi Arabia. That claim is an allegation by one side in an active conflict: it has not been independently verified, and Saudi authorities did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Awaaz Punjab is reporting the rescue claim and the allegation exactly as attributed — not as established fact.

India's Ministry of External Affairs has separately strongly condemned the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field on October 21, saying those attacks resulted in civilian deaths and injuries. Reuters reported an Indian national was among those killed in the Dammam airport attack.

For the lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers across the Gulf and on Red Sea shipping routes, the episode underlines how quickly the Saudi–Houthi escalation is reaching civilian boats, airports and oil sites far from any front line. No official Indian statement on the Zuqar boat itself had been reported at the time of publication.