Houthi fighters attend a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the US strikes on Yemen outside Sanaa on Jan 22, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

SANAA - Yemen's Houthi group has ordered UN workers from the United States and Britain to leave the areas under its control in a month, a UN official told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Houthis told UN agencies that their American and British staff were unwelcome and should not return to the Houthi-held territory.

The US-Britain maritime coalition in the Red Sea has carried out several airstrikes on Houthi camps in various northern provinces of Yemen. It said these actions are aimed at preventing further Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea shipping lane

According to local media, there are more than 20 American and British nationals working for the UN in the Houthi-controlled areas.

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The move came amid rising tensions between the US and British forces stationed in the Red Sea and Houthis, who have been attacking "Israeli-linked ships" in the region since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7, 2023, to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

The US-Britain maritime coalition in the Red Sea has carried out several airstrikes on Houthi camps in various northern provinces of Yemen. It said these actions are aimed at preventing further Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea shipping lane.

The Houthi group vowed to continue targeting ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea until Israel ends its attacks and blockade on the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory.

READ MORE: Yemeni govt warns Houthis against escalation in Red Sea

Last week, the US redesignated the Houthi group as a "terrorist organization" and said the move would not affect food and medicine supplies to northern Yemen.

Britain said in a joint statement on Tuesday that 24 countries, including the United States, Germany and Australia, conducted additional strikes on Monday against eight targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

"In response to continued illegal and reckless Houthi attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted additional strikes against eight targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," a joint statement issued by the British prime minister's office said.

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Early on Wednesday, the US military carried out more strikes in Yemen early, destroying two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the Red Sea and were preparing to launch, the US military said in a statement.

"US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region," the US military's Central Command said in a statement.

"US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missiles in self-defense."

Since the United States started striking Houthi military sites in Yemen on Jan 11, the Pentagon says it has destroyed or degraded over 25 missile launch and deployment facilities and more than 20 missiles.

It says it has also struck drones, coastal radar and Houthi air surveillance capabilities as well as weapon storage areas.

With Reuters inputs