The Latest | A second ship sinks in Yemen's Houthi rebels' Red Sea campaign against Israel-Hamas war

In an apparent escalation by Yemen's Houthi rebels in their campaign targeting shipping through the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, a bulk carrier has sunk after being attacked by the Iranian-backed Houthis, authorities said Wednesday.

With the Israeli offensive now in its ninth month, international criticism has grown steadily over the United States' support for Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza, and the top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying militants operate among the population.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Tuesday that the United States was withholding weapons needed for the war in Gaza. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about killing civilians in Gaza. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that those 2,000-pound bombs are the only weapons under review. He told reporters that “Everything else is moving as it normally would.”

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger.

Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Currently:

— For a second time, a ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea.

— Muslim pilgrims wrap up the Hajj with final