DUBAI, February 19. /TASS/. Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement have attacked the UK vessel Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden with the ship sustaining serious damage and being at the risk of sinking, a statement by the rebels said.

"Yemen’s navy <…> has carried out a military operation, striking the UK vessel Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden with several seaborne projectiles," the movement’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said on his Telegram channel. The rebels claim that the vessel sustained "serious damage" and "is at the risk of sinking in the Gulf of Aden." "During the operation, we made sure that the crew left the vessel safely," the Houthis noted.

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. Since last November, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In response, the US and its allies launched Operation Prosperity Guardian aiming to ensure both the freedom of navigation and the safety of maritime traffic in the Red Sea.