Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday they had targeted a US ship off the coast of Aden, hours after Washington reclassified them as a “terrorist” group, AFP reported.

Yemeni rebels fired missiles “at the US Genco Picardy ship in the Gulf of Aden,” their military spokesman Yehya Sari said.

The UK Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) previously reported that a drone had collided with a ship in the same area, although it was not immediately clear whether it was the same incident.

“There was a fire on board, which has already been extinguished,” the UKMTO said, adding that the crew and vessel are safe and on their way to the next port of call.

British marine risk company Ambrey said the vessel was a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship that was hit while sailing southeast of the Yemeni city of Aden.

Since mid-November, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks in the Red Sea and nearby waters on ships they believe are linked to Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. .

The United States and Britain have launched a series of strikes on Houthi positions in recent days, and they have retaliated by targeting American ships, which are now considered “legitimate targets.”

The Houthi rebels “will not hesitate to attack all sources of threat in the Red and Arabian Seas as part of (their) right to legitimate self-defense,” Yehya Sari said, adding that “no attack will go unanswered.”

Washington announced on Wednesday that it had reclassified the Houthi group as a “terrorist” group, saying it wanted to pressure the rebels, who disrupt shipping on a vital global trade route.

“Operations against Israeli ships or those bound for the ports of occupied Palestine will not stop” until the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas ends, Yeha Sari reiterated.

The spokesman for the movement’s political wing, Mohamed Abdelsalam, also warned earlier on Al Jazeera that US measures would not stop the rebels from continuing attacks “in support of the Palestinian people.”