NEW YORK, March 2. /TASS/. The United States has struck a surface-to-air missile of the Houthi rebels from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported.

"On March 1 at about 12:40 p.m. Sanaa time (9:30 a.m. GMT - TASS), CENTCOM forces conducted a self-defense strike against one Iranian-backed Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen towards the Red Sea," the command said in a statement posted on its X page.

The command also said that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen towards the Red Sea at 10:46 p.m. Sanaa time (7:46 a.m. GMT - TASS). "There was no impact or damage to any vessels," the US military added.

With the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalating, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement announced that it would conduct strikes on Israeli territory and block pro-Israeli vessels from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceases its military operation in the Palestinian enclave. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November of last year.