Yemen's Ansar Allah movement shelled a UK commercial ship in the Red Sea heading to a port in Israel, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday.
"As a sign of support for the oppressed Palestinian people and as part of the response to the US-UK aggression against our country, the naval forces of the armed forces of Yemen attacked a UK commercial ship in the Red Sea, which was heading to a port of the occupied territories of Palestine, with appropriate anti-ship missiles," Saree said on Telegram.
A pledge by the Houthis to attack any ships linked to Israel until it ceases hostilities in the Gaza Strip led the United States to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea.
Forces of the US and the United Kingdom later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels' ability to target commercial vessels.