DUBAI, November 20. /TASS/. Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement attacked the Anadolu S bulk carrier in the Red Sea with missiles, the group's military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

"The naval forces of Yemen conducted a mission to attack the Anadolu S ship sailing in the Red Sea with several ballistic and anti-ship missiles," the spokesman told the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah television channel.

Saria said the rebel forces had registered a direct strike on the ship’s hull. He added that the vessel was attacked for "violating the ban on entering the ports of the occupied Palestine."

According to the Marine Traffic database, the Anadolu S bulk carrier, flying the flag of Panama, is currently en route from Egypt’s Alexandria to Pakistan’s Port Qasim on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. The vessel last reported its whereabouts in the early hours of November 16, when it was in the central part of the Red Sea.

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.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, US officials announced the formation of an international coalition and the preparation of Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. As a result, UK and US forces began regularly attacking rebel military facilities in various provinces of Yemen.