Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen said they targeted the Maersk Yorktown cargo ship and an American warship destroyer in the Gulf of Aden, as well as targeting the Israeli ship MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean, the group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Wednesday in a televised speech.

The U.S. Maritime Administration said the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday, as a response to Israel's war against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

But the attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the terrorists have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen, while shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat, The Times of Israel reported.