SANAA - Warplanes of the United States and Britain conducted nine airstrikes on Monday against Houthi military targets in Yemen's Hodeidah province on the Red Sea, local residents and Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

Four airstrikes hit the area of Ras Issa in the northwestern district of al-Salif, three airstrikes hit in al-Arj area of the eastern district of Bajil, and two airstrikes hit in al-Taif area in the southern district of Durayhimi.

Hodeidah's residents described the explosions in Houthi sites as very powerful.

There were no comments yet from the coalition. In the meantime, the British maritime trade operations agency reported a new missile attack against a cargo ship in the international waters off Yemen's Hodeidah port city.

The coalition's navy forces stationing in the Red Sea have been striking Houthi military targets since this January to deter the Houthis from attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have been attacking cargo ships since mid-November last year in protest against the Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip.

Last week, the Houthi missile attack caused large damage to a US cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden. In the week before, a British oil tanker struck by Houthi missiles sank to the bottom of the Red Sea.

The Houthis have said their attacks will not stop until Israel stops its war and lifts the blockade on the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The Houthi rebels have been controlling several northern cities since the Yemeni civil war broke out in late 2014.

The group has tightened its grip on the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah since the 2018 UN-sponsored Stockholm Truce Agreement, which was backed by the United States and Britain, forcing the Yemeni internationally recognized government out.