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Houthis deny claims of underwater cable sabotage in Red Sea

Israel’s newspaper reported earlier that the Houthis damaged four underwater cables in the Red Sea that are part of the telecom infrastructure linking Europe, Asia, and Africa

DUBAI, February 27. /TASS/. The Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah have denied that they caused the damage to the system of underwater communications cables running across the Red Sea bottom.

"We refute propaganda reports in the mass media linked with the Zionist enemy (Israel - TASS) disseminating allegations about the causes of the damage to international underwater cables in the Red Sea," the Houthis said in a statement cited by their agency Saba.

Israel’s Globes newspaper reported earlier that the Houthis damaged four underwater cables in the Red Sea that are part of the telecom infrastructure linking Europe, Asia, and Africa. According to the Globes, this damage triggered internet problems in India and countries of the Persian Gulf. It will take at least two months to restore the damaged cables, the newspaper added.

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. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

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