WASHINGTON
\nMore than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
\nThe Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had over 20 nations now sign on to participate\u201d in the coalition, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.
\nRyder said the Houthis are \u201cattacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world,\u201d effectively becoming \u201cbandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea.\u201d
\nCoalition forces will \u201cserve as a highway patrol of sorts, patrolling the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to \u2014 and assist as necessary \u2014 commercial vessels that are transiting this vital international waterway,\u201d he said, calling on the Houthis to cease their attacks.
\nThe latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack on October 7 that killed around 1,140 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
\nVowing to destroy Hamas, Israel began a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, which Gaza\u2019s Hamas government on Wednesday said has killed at least 20,000 people.
\nThose deaths have provoked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks by armed groups in the region, including the Houthi strikes on Red Sea shipping.
\nThe United States announced the multinational Red Sea coalition on Monday, while the Houthis warned two days later that they would strike back if attacked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON More than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-376193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n