DOHA, August 15. /TASS/. The death toll from US and British strikes on the facilities of the Yemeni movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) has climbed to 73, the movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has said.

According to al-Houthi, whose statement was telecast by Al Masirah TV channel, this week alone the US has carried out at least 10 airstrikes in Yemen, including eight in al-Hodeidah province. The Ansar Allah leader stated that 73 people lost their lives to the shellings and another 181 were injured.

On June 6, al-Houthi said that since January 12, 2024, US and British strikes on Ansar Allah targets have killed at least 55 people and wounded 78.

Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Ansar Allah warned that it would bombard Israeli territory and prevent associated ships from sailing through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as long as the operation in the Palestinian enclave continued. Since last November, the Houthis have been attacking civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. On March 14 this year, al-Houthi announced that his supporters intended to attack commercial ships that would be traveling through the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. The Houthis later announced a "fourth stage of escalation." They warned they would attack ships bound for Israeli ports throughout their reach, including the Mediterranean Sea.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, the US authorities announced the formation of an international coalition and launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in a bid to ensure the freedom of shipping and maritime security in the Red Sea. Subsequently, the armed forces of Britain and the United States began to regularly hit Houthi military facilities in various provinces of Yemen.