LONDON, December 20. /TASS/. The international coalition formed under the aegis of the US will create a safe corridor to ensure the safe navigation in the Red Sea, the Financial Times reported, citing three unnamed sources.

According to the newspaper, the current plan is not to provide individual escorts for merchant ships passing through the Red Sea waters and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but for NATO ships to provide them with comprehensive protection against drone attacks and missile launches from Yemeni territory by the Houthi rebels. Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have declared that they will attack Israeli territory and will not allow related ships to pass through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave is halted.

At the same time, the Financial Times said that planning for the operation was in its early stages and that changes were possible.

In response to the actions of the Houthis, the US authorities announced the formation of an international coalition and the preparation of an operation to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. The participants of the operation, as the Pentagon earlier reported, include Bahrain, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain.