Yemen:
The chief negotiator for the Houthis in Yemen said Monday that the group's position has not changed since the US-led airstrikes on its positions, and warned that attacks on ships bound for Israel will continue.
US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of airstrikes in Yemen last week in retaliation for Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which the Iran-linked movement launched in response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
“Attacks to stop Israeli ships or ships heading to the ports of occupied Palestine will continue,” Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.
He said the group was still demanding an end to the war in Gaza and humanitarian aid deliveries to the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
“We do not want an escalation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” Abdulsalam said. It was the United States and Britain who militarized the Red Sea with their warships, he added.
“Our communications continue to clarify our position and confirm that all commercial ships in the Red and Arabian Seas are safe, with the exception of Israeli ships or ships bound for Israel,” he said.
Israel has regularly denied ties to ships attacked in the Red Sea, and several international shipping companies have halted deliveries or switched to longer, most expensive routes.
“Our position arises from religious, moral and humanitarian principles… and in response to the calls of the Palestinian people… to support the oppressed in the Gaza Strip,” Abdulsalam said.
The US military said on Sunday that a US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile the Houthis fired at the USS Laboon in the southern Red Sea. “No injuries or damage were reported,” the US Central Command added.
The Houthi movement controls much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a US-backed, Saudi-led coalition.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday demanded that the Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and implicitly backed a US-led task force that defends ships while warning of escalating tensions.
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