The Houthis in Yemen say they launched attacks on a commercial vessel after it used an Israeli port, and on a US aircraft carrier ordered home after months of responding to sea attacks launched because of the war on Gaza.

Yahya Saree, the military spokesman of the Iran-aligned group, said in a televised announcement on Saturday the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Transworld Navigator was directly hit by ballistic missiles in the Arabian Sea.

“The ship was targeted because the company that owns it violated the ban of entry into the ports of occupied Palestine,” he said, alluding to an earlier threat that all ships docking at Israeli ports would be considered targets.

The attack came after the sinking this week of the ship MV Tutor, which appears to mark a new escalation in the campaign against commercial vessels in vital maritime corridors.