Yemen's Houthi leader vows to escalate attacks if Gaza conflict continues

"I warn them (the United States, Britain and Israel) that they must stop their aggression against Gaza and stop their siege, otherwise we will seek to escalate more and more attacks," al-Houthi said in a televised speech aired by his group's TV channel al-Masirah.

He made the speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the killing of his elder brother, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the founder of the armed group who was killed during clashes with the Yemeni government army in 2004 in the Houthi stronghold of northern Saada province.

Earlier in the day, the group claimed responsibility for launching attacks on a U.S. Navy ship and a British commercial vessel in the Red Sea. "We will launch more," al-Houthi said, noting that his armed group has already disrupted the international shipping.

The U.S. Navy said on social media platform X that they intercepted the Houthi attack, while the British commercial vessel reported to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency that a missile passed past its deck and caused slight damage to the vessel's bridge windows, while the vessel continued sailing.

The Houthis have escalated their attacks in the Red Sea since mid-November last year. In response, the U.S.-British maritime coalition launched dozens of airstrikes targeting Houthi sites in several Yemeni provinces.

The Houthi top officials said the U.S.-British airstrikes had no impact on the group's military capabilities and would not deter them from launching further attacks on the Red Sea shipping line.

(With UNI/XINHUA inputs)