Houthi supporters attend a rally marking eight years for a Saudi-led coalition, March 26, 2023, in Sanaa, Yemen. (PHOTO / AP)

SANAA - Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed a drone attack on an Israel-bound cargo ship in the Red Sea.

"The military operation against the Mersik Gebrlater container vessel that was heading to Israel was precise and caused damage to the ship," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement.

Our forces will continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab Sea and the Red Sea unless food and medicine aid be allowed to enter into Gaza Strip. 

Yehya Sarea, Houthi military spokesman

"The attack came after the ship's crew refused to respond to the call of our naval forces," he said.

The spokesman claimed that Houthis had successfully prevented the passage of several other Israel-bound foreign ships during the past 48 hours.

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"Our forces will continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab Sea and the Red Sea unless food and medicine aid be allowed to enter into Gaza Strip," said Sarea.

This was the latest in a series of anti-Israel attacks claimed by the Houthis since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7.

READ MORE: Israel sends corvette to southern coast amid Houthi attacks

On Tuesday, the Houthi group said they launched a missile at a Norwegian ship loaded with oil that was heading to Israel in the Red Sea.

READ MORE: Yemen's Houthi militia attacks Norwegian tanker in Red Sea

On Nov 19, the Houthi fighters hijacked a commercial ship, Galaxy Leader, in the Red Sea and brought it to the Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.