Cairo, Mar. 15, (dpa/GNA) – The chief of Yemen’s Houthis has threatened that the Iran-aligned group will expand its operations to block Israel-linked ships from even passing through the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.

Houthi militants have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in what they say is retaliation for Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

Because of the continuing Houthi attacks, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe and are sailing around the much longer route of South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope instead.

The group’s leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised address Thursday that the Houthis are serious about expanding their operations to other “unexpected” shipping routes.

 “This is an important, advanced and major step. We have started our related operations through the Indian Ocean,” he said, according to the Houthi TV al-Masirah without elaborating.

Al-Houthi said his group has targeted a total of 73 vessels and warships since they started their attacks in November.

The Houthis say they want to force an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which followed the unprecedented massacre by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in Israel on October 7 last year.

Several Western countries, including the United States and Britain, have launched operations to protect ships in the region in response to the Houthi attacks.

The European Union has also launched a military operation in which Germany is participating to secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea.

The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping routes for world trade, as it connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt.

GNA