DUBAI, July 4. /TASS/. Yemen’s Houthis have attacked a total of 177 Israel-linked ships since November last year, said Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group’s leader.

In remarks on Houthi-run Al Masirah television, he said the Houthis blocked the movement of Israel-linked ships in the Red and Arabian seas, so they refocused their operations to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Houthi leader, the group conducted several such operations in the past week, firing 16 ballistic missiles and drones.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the group said they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships affiliated with that country from passing through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ended. The Houthis have been attacking civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November. On March 14, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the group will attack Israeli-linked ships sailing across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. The Houthis later announced a "fourth phase of escalation," threatening to attack ships bound for Israeli ports in any spot within their reach, including the Mediterranean Sea.

In response to these attacks, the US and UK announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Afterward, the UK and US started carrying out regular strikes on Houthi military sites in various Yemeni provinces.