Yemen's Houthi group on Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack on the MSC Darwin ship in the Gulf of Aden and the launch of missiles toward the Israeli city of Eilat.

"We attacked the Israeli ship, MSC Darwin, in the Gulf of Aden with a number of naval missiles and drones, hitting it accurately," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

The group consistently describes MSC-operated ships as "Israeli" for uncertain reasons.

"We also launched a number of ballistic and winged missiles towards targets in the southern Israeli city of Eilat," he said.