Citizens who support Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels, who have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, took to the streets of cities on Friday to protest against the multinational military coalition formed by the US to protect international shipping in it. the maritime area of ​​strategic importance.

Thousands of supporters of the Houthis, an organization close to Iran, took part in a march in Sana’a, expressing their support for their anti-Israeli and anti-American action.

The demonstration had as its central slogan “the coalition to protect Israeli ships does not terrorize us” and participants chanted slogans such as “if any ship comes near, we will hit it,” according to the al-Mashira TV network, which is close to the Shiite rebel movement, which controls most of northern Yemen.

A similar rally and march took place in Saada, a Houthi stronghold in northern Yemen.

The protests came less than 24 hours after Shiite rebel leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi announced that attacks on ships owned by Israel or bound for Israeli ports would continue.

The leader of the Shiite armed movement Ansar Allah — better known as the Houthis, after the family name of its leaders — said the US-led operation in the Red Sea is intended to turn the entire region into a battlefield.

Operation Prosperity Guardian, the US-led initiative, aims to increase the international military presence in the Red Sea to protect international shipping, as many major shipping companies have decided to stop carrying cargo through it due to Houthi drone and missile attacks.

The Houthis say they are attacking commercial ships bound for Israel or heading to Israeli ports to pressure an end to the Israeli military’s operation to “eliminate” Hamas in the Gaza Strip.