Yemen's Houthis say they targeted 'Israeli ship MSC SKY' in the Arabian Sea

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Monday the Iran-aligned group had targeted the "Israeli ship MSC SKY" in the Arabian sea.

Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.

Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israeli war on Gaza could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship MSC SKY in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate and direct," Sarea said in a televised speech.

Sarea said the incident happened hours after a separate operation by Yemen's Houthis in which they targeted a number of U.S. warships in the Red Sea.

"Through these two operations, (we) confirm our ability to target warships and non-warships simultaneously," he said, vowing to continue the attacks on ships passing Yemen until Israel's offensive against Gaza was halted.

The U.S. and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Adam Makary and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Jan Harvey and Alex Richardson)