The leader of Yemen’s Houthis has warned that any US attack on the group would not go without response on Thursday in a televised speech. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the group would confront any ‘American aggression’ adding that his organisation wouldn’t stop its attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea. ‘Our position stems from our faith. The Americans should know what that means,’ said al-Houthi. The Houthis, he said, were not disrupting ships from other countries and would not interfere with their passage through the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a narrow passageway between Djibouti and Yemen. Al-Houthi said: ‘The only targets exclusively are ships linked to Israel’ UK cabinet meets to discuss strikes on Houthi rebels US and UK prepare to launch strikes against Houthis in Yemen Middle East crisis – live updates