The goal of threatening Israeli ships and ships heading toward the occupation entity in the Red Sea is not to harm the interests of world countries, but for ethical purposes in response to the ongoing brutal war on Gaza, member of the Political Bureau of Ansar Allah movement, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, confirmed to Al Mayadeen on Thursday.

Sanaa declared last month that it will commence operations against Israeli and Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea in support of the people in Gaza until the war on the Strip stops.

The enforced decision compelled many major shipping companies to adopt significantly lengthier sailing routes, leading to increased costs, insurance premiums, and the delivery time of cargo heading to the occupation entity.

The matter got worse for "Israel" after the Yemeni Armed Forces announced a new equation earlier this week following a US veto on a ceasefire in Gaza at the UNSC meeting, which added that ships heading to "Israel", regardless of their nationality, to the ban, and expanded the scope to include the Arabian Sea alongside the Red Sea.

Read more: A fire aboard a ship near Bab al-Mandab: UKTMO

Hollow threats

Al-Bukhaiti said the operations have proven the strength and wisdom of Yemen, pointing out that they have greatly affected the entity and the United States, adding that the ceasefire in Gaza, which lasted for a week, was one of their results. 

Reiterating warnings announced by top Yemeni officials, he stressed that the only way to avoid expanding the war to include the entire region is to stop the aggression on Gaza. 

Addressing the pressures on Sanaa to end its measures, al-Bukhaiti said that threats to stop the peace process in Yemen with Saudi Arabia are hollow, adding, "We are realistic and ready to reach a comprehensive and full peace in Yemen."

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In the same context, he continued that Sanaa's openness to peace will not affect the support for Palestine and the continuation of the operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces to this end.

Read more: US in talks with Gulf allies to take action against Yemen: Bloomberg

Operations will continue as vowed

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Thursday the martyrdom of 179 Palestinians and the hospitalization of 303 injuries in the past hours due to Israeli airstrikes.

This brings the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli war to 18,787 martyrs and 50,897 injuries. The Ministry emphasized that a significant number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets.

On the latest developments regarding the Yemeni operations, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Thursday that the country's naval forces carried out a military operation against the Maersk Gibraltar cargo ship, which was en route to the Israeli occupation entity.

In a statement, Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed that the ship was targeted with a drone, which achieved a direct hit after the vessel crew refused to respond to the warnings issued by the forces.

Furthermore, Saree revealed that the armed forces of Yemen succeeded in the past 48 hours in prohibiting the passage of several ships heading to the occupation entity. 

Lastly, the General renewed vows that Yemen will continue conducting operations in support of Palestine and Gaza until the Israeli war on the Strip stops.

Yemen corners the US into a dilemma

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that officials of US President Joe Biden's administration are against a dilemma in responding to the wave of attacks in the Red Sea. The agency noted that Washington "does not want to be dragged" into a wider war in West Asia (Middle East).

On his part, the former commander of the Israeli Navy, Eliezer Marom, said the Yemeni Armed Forces are imposing a complete naval blockade on the entity, which has led to the disruption of 95% of imports and exports.

Responding to the threat imposed by the Yemeni operations, the Israeli "National Security Council" issued "urgent instructions to Israeli ports to remove information related to the arrival and departure of ships from their websites," according to the Israeli Globes website.