Israel and its allies have escalated strikes against the Houthis to try to force them to stop firing on Israel and Red Sea shipping lanes, but it was not clear whether they would deter the Iran-backed militia.

Palestinians and family members of hostages who were killed in captivity have been imploring the Israeli government and world leaders for a ceasefire deal.

Israel, the US, and Britain on Friday carried out their first coordinated attack on Houthi targets in Yemen, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported. Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV also reported that a series of airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the Al-Sabeen Square in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The Sounion had been a disaster in waiting in the waterway, with 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard that had been struck and later sabotaged with explosives by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The recovery of the oil tanker Sounion, which was attacked and badly damaged by the Yemeni Houthi militia in the Red Sea last year, has been successfully completed, according to a security service provider.