A missile fired from Yemen hit a commercial vessel, British maritime security company Ambrey said on Thursday, after Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack on the US vessel, AFP reported.

“According to our information, a merchant vessel was hit by a ‘missile’ during a cruise voyage (…) off Aden, Yemen,” Embree said, adding that “the vessel reported an explosion” on board.

“Ambry became aware that the missile was launched (…) from Taiz,” a province in southern Yemen, the company added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they had fired missiles at a US ship they identified as the Kol as it was en route to an Israeli port.

Rebel spokesman Yahya Sari said on social media that the missiles “directly hit the ship” in the Gulf of Aden.

Houthi rebels, who control large swathes of Yemen, have launched more than 35 attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Nov. 19, disrupting shipping in the region critical to world trade, according to the Pentagon.

The rebels, who are close to Iran, say they want to prevent ships linked to Israel from sailing off the coast of Yemen “in solidarity” with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since October 7.

These attacks have forced some shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which normally carry about 12 percent of world trade, bypassing Africa.

The United States, Israel’s main ally, deployed warships to the Red Sea and launched several strikes in January against rebel positions, sometimes alongside the United Kingdom.

The U.S. military said Wednesday it had destroyed a missile belonging to the Houthi rebels that was preparing to launch and “posed an immediate threat to U.S. aircraft,” according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).