HAVANA, January 13. /TASS/. The strikes delivered by the United States and its allies on Yemeni soil run counter to international law norms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said on Friday.

"We condemn the military attacks of the United States and its NATO allies on Yemen in violation of international law. Acts of this nature encourage genocide in Gaza," Cuba’s top diplomat wrote on his page on X (former Twitter).

On Thursday night, the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered air strikes on rebel-held positions in several Yemeni cities, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah, using aircraft, warships and submarines. US President Joe Biden said the military action was ordered in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on shipping in the Red Sea and that the strikes, targeting Houthi munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems, were delivered in self-defense.

After 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. According to estimates by the US Defense Department’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the Yemeni rebel group has attacked more than 20 vessels and civilian ships in the Red Sea since mid-November.