On Friday, the U.S. military reported that Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile at a U.S. warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

The ship was forced to respond by intercepting and neutralizing the incoming projectile. As reported by The Associated Press, the strike on the USS Carney destroyer signifies the first direct targeting of a U.S. warship by the Houthis since the rebels initiated assaults on shipping in October.

The information disclosed by a U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the lack of authorization to publicly discuss the incident. The strike marked a further escalation in the biggest sea confrontation the U.S. Navy has seen in the Middle East in decades. A Houthi missile fire also set another commercial vessel ablaze Friday night.

"They're Trying To Kill Us"

According to the AP, that contradicted a statement by the U.S. military's Central Command, which said the Houthis fired "toward" the Carney. As it has in previous strikes, the Pentagon said it was difficult to pinpoint what the Houthis were trying to hit.

Brad Bowman, a senior director at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said, "They're now finally calling a spade a spade and saying that, yeah, they're trying to attack our forces, they're trying to kill us."

Softening the language to prevent a larger war has backfired, making the situation worse by giving more power to the Houthis, he stated.

The most recent assault signifies the rebels' ongoing campaign against vessels navigating the Red Sea and nearby waters, causing disruptions in global trade amid Israel's conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The United Kingdom Maritime Operations overseeing the Middle East waterways confirmed a vessel was hit by a missile and caught on fire in the Gulf of Aden.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree did not acknowledge the Carney attack. He claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a commercial vessel, identifying it as the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Marlin Luanda, which was engulfed in flames.

The extent of injuries, if any, remains unclear.

Additionaly, it was reported