PARIS, January 17. /TASS/. France is not planning to participate in strikes on positions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, because it wants to avoid escalation in the region, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters.

"France decided not to join the coalition that delivers preventive strikes on Houthi positions," Macron said. "We are seeking to avoid escalation."

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip last year, 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 2023.

Overnight into January 12, US and UK aircraft, naval ships and submarines struck Houthis sites in some Yemeni cities. US President Joe Biden said the strikes were defensive and represented a response to Houthis attacks in the Red Sea. The targets included the Houthis sites for launching missiles and drones, along with locations of radar stations.