Sanaa, Sep 3 (IANS): Yemen's armed Houthi group claimed responsibility for attacking the Panama-flagged "BLUE LAGOON I" oil ship in the Red Sea.

"We carried out a qualitative military operation targeting the ship, BLUE LAGOON I, in the Red Sea, with a number of appropriate missiles and drones, and it was directly hit," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Monday in a statement aired by Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

He said that the ship was targeted because the company owning it has dealings with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to multiple media reports, "BLUE LAGOON I" is a Greek-owned ship that sails under the Panama flag.

"We renew our warnings to all companies dealing with the Israeli enemy that their ships will be targeted while passing through the (Houthi) declared naval operations areas and regardless of their destination," Sarea said.

The attacks against ships would continue until "Israel stops its war in Gaza," he added.

According to Al-Masirah TV, there were many other attacks against "Israeli-linked" cargo ships on Monday and in the past months, but Houthis did not declare responsibility for those attacks for "political reasons."

Earlier in the day, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations reported an attack against a cargo ship in the Red Sea, off the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.

Meanwhile, residents in the neighboring Yemeni province of Al-Mahwit told Xinhua by phone on Monday morning that they saw two missiles fired from a Houthi-controlled military position towards the Red Sea.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted what they describe as "Israeli-linked" cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to show solidarity with the Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen since late 2014, forcing the internationally recognized government out of the capital, Sanaa.