Since Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza, the Houthis have been targeting vessels in the region that they deem to have connections to Israel or are en route to Israeli ports.

Yemen’s Houthi movement will broaden its targets in the Red Sea region to include U.S. ships, pledging to intensify their attacks following recent U.S. and UK strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, an official from the group said on Monday.

Since Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza, the Houthis have been targeting vessels in the region that they deem to have connections to Israel or are en route to Israeli ports.

Since November, Houthi attacks on ships in the area have had repercussions for companies and sparked concern among major powers.

The Houthi group asserts it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians and maintains that they are attacking the vessels to pressure Israel to end its genocide in Gaza and relax restrictions on humanitarian aid supplies intended for Palestinians.

British and American ships, according to Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesperson for the Houthis, have become “legitimate targets” due to the recent strikes on Yemen by those two countries.

“The ship doesn’t necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it. It is enough for it to be American,” Amer said.

“The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.”

The Houthis, who previously vowed to target only Israeli ships or those en route to Israel, however, have now vowed to expand the scope of their attacks as a response to U.S. offences on its targets.

The U.S. and UK launched a barrage of airstrikes on Yemen on January 12 in response to the Houthi’s Red Sea blockade of ships linked to Israel. 

The attack involved more than 150 precision-guided munitions, striking several Yemeni governorates, including the capital Sanaa and the cities of Hodeidah, Saada, and Dhamar.

Hours after the attacks early on Friday, which the Houthis said killed five people, the group warned that all U.S. and British assets have now turned into “legitimate targets.”

The Houthis denounced the strikes on Yemen as “barbaric,” issued threats of retaliation, and declared their intent to persist in targeting ships en route to Israel as long as the war in Gaza rages on.

“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for its criminal aggression against our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesperson said.

The attacks are the first on Yemeni territory since 2016 and also marked the first military intervention by the U.S.

In the latest incident, the U.S. Central Command reported that Houthi forces targeted the U.S.-owned and operated dry bulk ship Gibraltar Eagle with an anti-ship ballistic missile on Monday. Another incident involved a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier reportedly also struck by a missile near Yemen’s port of Aden.

“All American and British ships and warships involved in the aggression against our country are considered hostile targets,” military spokesperson Saree said.

He also maintained that no future U.S. or British strikes on Yemen would go “unpunished.”

Despite the U.S. strikes, the Houthis appear resolute in their actions. The escalating violence has prompted container vessels to pause or divert from the Red Sea, impacting the Suez Canal route – a crucial freight pathway from Asia to Europe.

Ship-tracking data revealed at least 15 tankers altering course, and QatarEnergy, the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has joined those avoiding the Red Sea.

“It is a pause to get security advice, if passing (through the) Red Sea remains unsafe we will go via the Cape,” the source told Reuters about QatarEnergy.

The longer route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, chosen by some shipping firms, adds approximately nine days to the usual 18-day trip from Qatar to northwest Europe. This disruption affects about 12% of world shipping traffic that transits the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.

As tensions rise, an explosion near Yemen’s Hodeidah airport adds to the uncertainty.

The situation remains volatile, with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps stating: “Let’s wait and see what happens,” regarding potential further strikes in Yemen.