In support of the Palestinians, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, have taken credit for striking “Israeli ships” on Sunday in a vital canal near the Arabian Peninsula.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), there were four strikes on three separate merchant ships in the Red Sea on Sunday.

Responding to distress calls from the freighters, the naval destroyer USS Carney patrolled the area and offered support.

The British-owned bulk carrier Unity Exlorer, flying the Bahamas flag, had been the victim of two assaults. The missiles were fired from Houthi rebel-controlled parts of Yemen on both occasions. Two missiles attacked the freighter and the ship in close proximity. A small amount of damage was present.The Panamanian-flagged container ship Number 9, whose owners are from Bermuda and Britain, was also damaged, according to the US military, by another missile fired from Houthi territories. There was damage to the ship.

Furthermore, a missile strike was recorded by the Panamanian bulk ship Sophie II. In this instance, the US military withheld any information regarding the missile’s place of origin.

The US destroyer reportedly stopped multiple drones that were being launched from Houthi-controlled areas during the assaults, one of which was headed straight for the USS Carney. Whether the navy destroyer was the intended target cannot be determined at this time.

The Yemeni coast is in the path of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, which leads to and from Egypt’s Suez Canal. The fastest sea route from Asia to Europe is via this canal, which joins the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.Ten percent or so of global trade goes across the Red Sea.

In reaction to Israel’s battle against the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthi rebels in Yemen had earlier promised to destroy “all ships” that had ties to Israel. Yehya Saree, a spokeswoman for the Houthi military, had stated that all ships flying the Israeli flag, owned by Israeli corporations, or run by Israeli companies were targets.

On Sunday, he reiterated the warning and claimed that the rebels had used a drone and a missile to target two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandab strait.

According to Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, there was no relationship between the two ships and the state of Israel. One of the ships was in distress and had sustained significant damage. in danger of sinking.

The first vessel was hit by a sea missile and the second by a drone in the Bab al-Mandab Strait that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, Saree said.In a televised announcement, he said, “The targeting operation came after they rejected warning messages from the Yemeni Navy Force.”

Saree pledged that until the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip ends, the group would keep stopping Israeli ships from sailing in the Arabian and Red Seas.

“We renew the warning to all Israeli ships or those linked to Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate our armed forces’ statements,” he stated.

The Houthis rebel organization claimed last month to have taken over an Israeli-affiliated cargo ship off the coast of Yemen and held its crew captive.

The Houthis have been interfering in the Israel-Hamas conflict in recent weeks by launching missiles and drones from the south of the Arabian Peninsula towards Israel.

The group is backed by Israel’s arch-rival Iran.

The Houthis have controlled Yemen’s capital Sana’a and other areas in northern Yemen since 2014 after they unseated the country’s internationally recognized government.