DUBAI, April 10. /TASS/. Yemeni Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement have attacked three commercial vessels and a US ship in the Gulf of Aden, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said.

According to him, the Mediterranean Shipping Company's vessels MSC Darwin and MSC Gina, as well as the Maersk Yorktown, were attacked by drones and anti-ship missiles.

Speaking on the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel, Sarea described the first two as Israeli ships and the Yorktown as an American one. According to him, the Gina vessel has been attacked for the second time. The Houthi spokesman also said that another US vessel had been attacked "by several drones."

Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement said it would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since last November. On March 14, the movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said that his supporters were determined to attack Israel-linked ships traveling across the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.

In response to the Houthis’ actions, the US authorities announced the establishment of an international coalition and the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. British and US forces started carrying out regular strikes on the rebels’ military targets across Yemen.