DUBAI, May 2. /TASS/. The United States and British armed forces have launched a total of 452 strikes on Yemen since January 12, killing at least 40 people, said Ansar Allah movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

"The number of attacks carried out by the US and UK against our country reached 452," al-Houthi noted. He said the attacks included "both air raids and strikes from the sea." Forty Yemenis were killed and 35 others were injured in the attacks, the Houthi leader added.

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 NovemberIn 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.