Around 80 commercial ships sailed through the Red Sea on Thursday, 20 of which are operated or owned by Chinese and Russian companies, the Wall Street Journal reported.

This came despite repeated claims by the United States that the Yemeni operations are threatening maritime international navigation.

Following the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, Sanaa announced it would enforce a ban on Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships from crossing the Red and Arabian Seas in support of the people of the Strip, currently facing an Israeli genocide with direct Washington support and complicity.

Read more: US not 'too weak' addressing Yemeni operations in Red Sea: Pentagon

As per the Yemeni decision, each vessel that passes through the banned seas and fits the criteria will be targeted or captured, and attacks will only halt when the war on Gaza ceases and its people receive sufficient medicine and food.

According to Israeli media, Yemen's equation has dealt significant economic losses to the occupation entity, including the shutdown of "Eilat" port operations.

Freedom of navigation

The Yemeni Armed Forces stressed repeatedly that all ships are free and safe to make their trips as long as they are not involved in the ban.

Late December 2023, a Panama-flagged container ship coming from Russia superfluously stated on its transponders that it was not linked to the Israelis, Vessel Finder reported then. It was interpreted to be a precautionary measure by crew members against a possible Yemeni operation.

More recently, Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco (China Ocean Shipping Company), the fourth largest shipping firm in the world with 11% of the trade market share, announced suspending all "Israel"-bound vessels, joining a growing list of same-sector companies halting shipments to the occupation entity.

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According to the US CENTCOM, the Yemeni army has launched 27 operations as of January 11.

Additionally, as part of the same objective, the Yemeni army captured the Israeli Galaxy Leader cargo ship and its crew in November and led it back to the country's coast. Sanaa declared that talks on returning the vessel will not take place until the war on Gaza stops and that it is up to Palestinians to put the conditions on its release.

Imminent aggression

The United States, the UK, and France issued last week a "final warning" to Sanaa to stop its operations. But the latter refused to give in to foreign pressure regarding its support to Gaza and announced the attacks would continue until the Israeli genocide stops. The statement was made after the newly established US-led sea coalition, operating under Operation Prosperity Guardian, was fractured before carrying out a single joint operation.

As part of its campaign against Sanaa, the US attacked earlier this month Yemeni naval forces in the Red Sea, resulting in the martyrdom of 10 servicemembers.

Read more: Nothing will stand between Yemen, Palestine: Sanaa military general

Western media outlets released several reports in the past few weeks, suggesting that a US-led strike against Yemen is nearing, echoing statements made by top White House officials regarding possible military actions against the country.

On Wednesday, a US-proposed UNSC resolution demanding Yemen to end its operations was passed with 11 votes in favor, while four chose to abstain, namely Russia, China, Algeria, and Mozambique. Many countries and parties criticized Washington's measure, pointing out that the United States had previously vetoed several resolutions that called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.

The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday that an attack on Yemen might have become imminent, adding that maritime executives were informed by Western officials that targets would likely be missile and drone launch sites, radar units, and weapons warehouses.

Barak Ravid, an Israeli Journalist, cited in an Axios report an Israeli security source saying that Western aggression against Yemen is imminent.

In support of Gaza no matter the challenges

Responding to threats of ending its operations in support of Gaza, Sanaa's top officials, including Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abul Malik al-Houth, the defense minister, and the chief of armed forces, all confirmed that any attack on Yemen will be met with a direct, decisive and large response.

Read more: Sayyed al-Houthi: We will bravely confront any US aggression

In its latest actionable confirmation of its position, the Yemeni Navy announced targeting a US naval vessel in the Red Sea in an "initial response" to the US attack killed that Yemeni forces. According to the Yemeni Armed Forces, the US ship was providing support to the Israeli entity, and it was targeted using a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones.

Sanaa warned that the United States and any other party that gets involved in an aggression on the country would "regret their action," reaffirming that Yemen will not allow "anyone to prevent it" from "carrying out its humanitarian, ethical and religious duty toward Gaza" and will continue with its ban decision "no matter the challenges."