Two months of attacksAsked about the claim, a US defense official told AFP: “We’re not seeing that at all on our end and believe that statement to be untrue.”The Yemeni rebels began striking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Hamas-Israel war.The Houthis have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.In addition to military action, Washington is seeking to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, re-designating them as a “terrorist” entity last week after dropping that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.The rebels reiterated on Monday that they will “respond to any attack” on Yemen and continue to “prevent Israeli ships” from crossing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the end of the war in Gaza.The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began after an unprecedented October attack by the Palestinian militant group that resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel responded with relentless bombardment and a ground offensive that has killed at least 25,295 people, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to the Gaza health ministry.Those deaths have sparked widespread anger across the region and stoked violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
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