Airstrikes by the US and UK in Yemen are aimed at escalating tensions in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Overnight, combined attacks targeted dozens of sites which Washington and London claim were Houthi military assets.

The military action came in response to attempts by the shiite movement to disrupt maritime traffic in the Red Sea to damage Israel. The Houthis targeted ships that they claimed were linked with the Jewish state in response to the three-month siege of Gaza.

While several nations participated in the strikes, Zakharova singled out the US as the leading force behind the action. In a social media post on Friday morning, she described them as an example of the “total disregard for international law in the name of escalation of the situation for [Western] destructive goals.”

The attacks in Yemen were conducted in coordination with the UK and with support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Bahrain, according to US Central Command. It claimed that Washington’s goal was to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea.”

Moscow has accused the US of standing in the way of international efforts to quell the Middle East conflict by blocking any proposed US Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel started the campaign in response to a deadly incursion by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in early October, and claims its goal is to obliterate this threat. Washington has provided military support for the Israeli military operation despite voicing concerns over the high number of civilian casualties.

At least 20,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave, according to local officials – roughly 1% of its population.