NAIROBI, February 27. /TASS/. The Kenyan office of South African internet provider Seacom has refuted reports that the undersea cable in the Red Sea was damaged in a Houthi attack, saying that there might be another explanation.

A company spokesperson said that it is wrong to blame the incident on the Houthis as the exact cause has not yet been identified. According to the spokesperson, the cable could have been damaged by a ship’s anchor or other part as tends to happen due to the low sea level. Such accidents are quite typical in areas where the sea level is low, the company said, adding that they are making efforts to resolve the problem.

Israel’s Globes newspaper reported earlier that the Houthis damaged four underwater cables in the Red Sea that are part of the telecom infrastructure linking Europe, Asia, and Africa. According to the Globes, this damage triggered internet problems in India and countries of the Persian Gulf. It will take at least two months to restore the damaged cables, the newspaper added. The Houthis, however, denied claims of underwater cable sabotage in the Red Sea.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.