The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Saturday reported a new security incident near Yemen, where the Ansarullah movement has been launching attacks on cargo linked to Israel and targeted American and British military vessels which have been attacking sites in Yemen.

It said the incident took place 23 nautical miles (42km) west of al-Makha (Mocha) in Yemen and military authorities are investigating.

Yemen’s Ansarullah has been insisting it will stop attacks on ships linked to Israel if the Zionist regime stops attacks on the beleaguered Gazans.

On January 19, thousands of demonstrators poured into the capital Sanaa to show their support for Palestinians and protest against attacks on Yemen by the United States and Britain.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from the scene of the protests, said many in the crowd accused the United States of supporting Israel’s war and promised to continue standing by their “brothers in Palestine”.

“They are now saying that, ‘We don’t care about your rage, we don’t care about whatever you do to us, we will continue our support and resilience with Palestinians until Israel stops its war on Palestine,’” he added.

Demonstrators also chanted against the US attacks on Yemen and some criticised the US designating the Ansarullah movement a “terrorist group”.

In a commentary on January 12, the Guardian said instead of retaliating against Ansarullah forces, the US and its allies should be pressing Israel to end its invasion of Gaza and accept a ceasefire

“Western leaders, and especially the US president, Joe Biden, insist that they want to reduce the risk of the war in Gaza spreading to other parts of the Middle East. But the US-led air and naval strikes on Yemen are the most significant expansion of the conflict since Israel launched its devastating assault on Gaza after the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Instead of avoiding a wider war, the US and its allies are escalating regional tensions and adding fuel to a conflict that has already spilled over to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Red Sea. The conflagration could spiral out of control, perhaps more by accident than design,” the Guardian said in its commentary.

It added, “Despite a blockade and thousands of airstrikes, the Saudi-led alliance failed to force the Houthis from Sana’a. The Houthis essentially won the war, and they reached a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 with Saudi Arabia, although the two sides are still negotiating a permanent truce.”

The newspaper said Washington and London should take lessons from the eight-year war between Ansarullah and Saudi Arabia.

“For the US and Britain, that history should serve as a cautionary tale: the regional power they supported spent years trying to destroy the Houthis, only to be ground down and forced to negotiate a settlement.”