SANAA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi leader said Thursday that his group has launched a total of 156 attacks against Israeli-linked ships, as well as the Israeli southern city of Eilat since the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October.

"The attacks against ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean were carried out with 606 ballistic and winged missiles and drones," Abdulmalik al-Houthi said in a televised speech aired by his group's al-Masirah TV, adding a total of 111 attacks have been carried out against Israeli targets in Eilat.

Meanwhile, the leader mentioned the economic toll on Israel from the group's attacks on the international shipping lines, saying, "Prices of food and medicine in Israel have been increasing due to our attacks on the ships."

"We are preparing for a fourth round of military escalation if Israel and the U.S. continue to be stubborn," the leader warned.

According to al-Houthi, the U.S.-led naval coalition has launched 452 strikes on Houthi targets since January, killing 40 people and wounding 35 others.

The leader, when talking about the latest development on the peace process between his group and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, said, "No clear agreement has been reached yet."

Yemen's protracted civil war erupted in 2014 when the Houthi group seized control over much of the country's north, compelling the Yemeni government to flee the capital. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the government.

Since last November, the Houthis began to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, insisting that they would not end the attacks until Israel stops its war against Gaza.

In January, the United States and Britain launched a military operation by carrying out airstrikes on Houthi military sites to deter the group. However, this only led to the Houthis escalating their attacks on commercial and military vessels from the U.S. and Britain in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Enditem

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