The US Navy shot down a drone that originated from a part of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militias on Wednesday morning, a US defense official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Houthis' military spokesman later said the militias fired several ballistic missiles at military posts in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
In a statement, the Houthis said they would continue to "carry out their military operations against the Israeli enemy, as well as implementing the decision to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Arab and Red Seas in support of the oppressed Palestinian people."
It is the sixth time the US Navy has fired upon drones in the southern Red Sea since war broke out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7 and comes amid a series of attacks on commercial vessels in Middle Eastern waters.
Earlier on Wednesday, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security company Ambrey reported an incident involving a suspected drone over the Red Sea west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
UKMTO warned vessels transiting the area to exercise caution.
There was no damage to US Navy vessels or injuries to US personnel in the attack, said the US official, who declined to be named.
The US military said on Sunday that three commercial vessels had come under attack in the southern Red Sea.
The Houthis on Sunday claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area, saying in a broadcast that the attacks came in response to the demands of Yemenis to stand with the Palestinian people.
