BRUSSELS, January 17. /TASS/. The European Union member states "have given initial backing" to the idea of sending a naval mission defending ships in the Red Sea, the Reuters news agency reported citing own sources.

The mission is expected to be created no later than February 19. It will work in coordination with other countries, also defending commercial ships in international maritime shipping lanes from attacks by Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement.

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