<p>Cairo: Yemen's Houthis on Thursday said their naval forces targeted an unidentified British merchant vessel in the Red Sea in the group's campaign to disrupt shipping to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza.</p><p>Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said that an explosion was reported at a distance off a vessel's starboard side west of Yemen's Hodeidah.</p><p>The vessel and crew were reported safe, UKMTO said. It was unclear whether it was the ship targeted by the Houthis.</p>.US shoots down missile fired by Houthis toward Red Sea, Pentagon says. <p>The Houthis' attacks on shipping "will persist until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted," the Houthi military spokesperson said in a statement.</p><p>The US and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and returned the militia to a list of terrorist groups as turmoil from the Israel-Hamas war spreads through the region.</p><p>The Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since Nov 19.</p><p>The Gaza conflict has spilled over into other parts of the Middle East. Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah has traded fire with Israeli troops along the border, and Iraqi-armed groups have attacked US forces in Iraq. </p>
<p>Cairo: Yemen's Houthis on Thursday said their naval forces targeted an unidentified British merchant vessel in the Red Sea in the group's campaign to disrupt shipping to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza.</p><p>Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said that an explosion was reported at a distance off a vessel's starboard side west of Yemen's Hodeidah.</p><p>The vessel and crew were reported safe, UKMTO said. It was unclear whether it was the ship targeted by the Houthis.</p>.US shoots down missile fired by Houthis toward Red Sea, Pentagon says. <p>The Houthis' attacks on shipping "will persist until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted," the Houthi military spokesperson said in a statement.</p><p>The US and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and returned the militia to a list of terrorist groups as turmoil from the Israel-Hamas war spreads through the region.</p><p>The Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since Nov 19.</p><p>The Gaza conflict has spilled over into other parts of the Middle East. Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah has traded fire with Israeli troops along the border, and Iraqi-armed groups have attacked US forces in Iraq. </p>