DOHA, September 1. /TASS/. Houthi rebels from the Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement have launched a missile strike on the Scarlet Ray oil tanker, which they claim belongs to Israel, in the Red Sea, the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

"The naval units of the Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out a military operation, launching a ballistic missile at the Israeli oil tanker Scarlet Ray in the northern part of the Red Sea," he told the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel. The ship was "hit by a direct strike," Saria added.

According to the MarineTraffic ship tracking service, a signal from the Liberia-flagged tanker Scarlet Bay, carrying oil and petrochemicals, was last received about 11 and a half hours ago, at 6:46 p.m. GMT on August 31, when it was located near the Saudi port of Yanbu.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received a report of an incident 40 nautical miles southwest of Yanbu late on Sunday. The UKMTO stated that the crew "heard a loud bang" and "witnessed a splash" from an unknown projectile. No one was injured. Reuters reported later, citing the British maritime security company Ambrey, that the tanker that had come under attack near Yanbu was owned by Israel.

On August 28, Israeli aircraft struck the Houthi-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa while rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi was delivering a televised address. According to the Israeli military, the attack targeted a Houthi military facility. On Saturday, the unrecognized presidential council that rules the rebel-controlled territory of Yemen announced the death of the Houthi government’s Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi. A Houthi source told TASS that the Israeli strikes had killed at least ten members of the Houthi cabinet.