Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have stopped a ship heading to Israel in the group’s latest response to the Gaza conflict.

In a statement on X, Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister of the Iran-backed Houthis, said that their navy forced the vessel "sailing towards occupied Palestine" to change its course and return.

The claim has not been confirmed and the account is unverified.

The Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, have escalated their activities amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

The group has targeted Israel with missiles and drones and carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea, including the seizure of an Israeli-owned vessel in November.

On Sunday, the Houthi information minister threatened to target all US and Israel shipping in the region.

Jon Finer, Deputy US National Security Adviser, recently said the Biden administration has not excluded military action against the Houthis as an option. However, the priority for now is establishing a maritime coalition to safeguard the Red Sea, a critical route accounting for 12% of global trade and a significant portion of energy supplies from the Middle East to Europe.

The Houthi rebels, aligned with other Iran-backed militant groups, have been effectively at war with Saudi Arabia since 2015. They have voiced support for Palestinians, especially following the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7. While Iran supports Hamas, it denies any involvement in the recent Red Sea vessel attacks. Tehran also supports Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group with strong connections to both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction in Gaza also backed by Iran.

Iran's present strategy includes the use of proxy forces to target Israel, Israeli assets, and US military installations in the region.