SANAA, Yemen

The Yemeni Houthi group on Friday held rallies in support of Gaza in most of the provinces under its control across Yemen.

The largest pro-Palestine rally took place in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, which is under the group's control, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.

The other rallies were held in the northern Yemeni provinces of Saada and Al-Mahwit, as well as in the central and southern provinces of Al-Bayda and Al-Dhale.

During the rallies, protesters waved Yemeni and Palestinian flags as well as banners condemning Israel's war on Gaza.

Since the beginning of 2024, a coalition led by the US has been conducting airstrikes that it said are targeting Houthi locations in parts of Yemen in response to attacks by the group in the Red Sea. The counterattacks have been occasionally met with retaliation from the group.

The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where nearly 37,300 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli offensive since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

With tensions escalating due to US-UK airstrikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, the group declared that it considered all American and British ships to be legitimate military targets.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar