Yemen’s government has placed its Red Sea coastguard on high alert in anticipation of assaults by the Iran-backed Houthis on government-controlled islands or coastal areas under the guise of attacking Israeli ships.

Tareq Mohammed Saleh, vice president of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, accused the Houthis on Tuesday of plotting attacks on Yemeni government areas or islands in the Red Sea, taking advantage of public outrage over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

“We urge you to remain vigilant and ready to confront any danger that threatens our ports, coasts, and islands at all times. There is a great threat from Iran-backed groups that are using the Gaza war and targeting Israeli ships as pretexts to target our ports and islands, and kill Yemenis,” the Yemeni leader said while speaking to a gathering of coastguard personnel near the Red Sea port city of Mocha.

Saleh’s remarks about safeguarding Yemeni beaches and islands enraged Houthi official Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, who vowed to strike any troops that stop the militia from assaulting Israeli ships.

This week, the Houthis fired drones and missiles at commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea as part of their threat to shut the Red Sea from all Israel-bound ships.

At the same time, Yemen’s government denied receiving an offer from the US to join a new international coalition force to counter Houthi threats to international maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

According to the official news agency SABA, an unknown military source urged the international community to provide military help to the country’s coastguard to fight Houthi threats at sea.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused the Houthis on Wednesday of committing war crimes by targeting and arbitrarily seizing civilian ships in the Red Sea, urging the militia to release the crew of the seized Galaxy Leader ship.

“The Houthis are claiming that they’re carrying out attacks on behalf of Palestinians, when the reality is that they’re attacking, arbitrarily detaining and endangering civilians on ship crews who have zero connection to any known military target,” Michael Page, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement, adding: “The Houthis should immediately release the hostages and end their attacks on civilians caught in the crosshairs of their declared war on Israel.”

On Nov. 19, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader cargo ship and its two dozen crew members in the Red Sea, claiming that the vessel was owned by an Israeli businessman. “The Houthis still have not taken responsibility for the civilian harm that they have caused to those living in Yemen. Rather than carrying out new war crimes, they should focus on achieving a durable peace in their country,” Page said.