A European diplomat confirmed to Al Arabiya yesterday, Friday, that the European naval operation to protect ships in the Red Sea will begin on Monday.

He added that the Europeans held extensive consultations with the Arab countries in the region about the mission of the European fleet, noting, "Informing the Houthis that European forces will not carry out operations on land."

He also added that the European Union informed Washington and London of the details of the plans for the European operation in the Red Sea, suggesting that Djibouti will be the point of logistical support for the European operation in the Red Sea.

He pointed out that the mission of the European Fleet is to intercept projectiles and potential threats in the Red Sea, stressing that 3 warships from France, Italy and Germany are now moving in the Red Sea.

The European Union announced that a European naval mission would soon be launched in order to protect navigation in this internationally important shipping lane, to be added to the “Guardian of Prosperity” coalition, which the United States announced last December.

Yter Stano, the Union's spokesman for foreign affairs, said that European countries have launched "very intensive work in their own naval mission that will protect commercial ships in the Red Sea from any kind of illegal and unlawful attacks," hinting at cooperation with Iran with the aim of putting pressure on... Houthi.

It is noteworthy that the “Guardian of Prosperity” coalition led by the United States and Britain had attacked during the past weeks several Houthi sites in areas under their control in Yemen, with the aim of limiting the ability of the Iranian-backed Houthis to attack ships.

Since last November (2023), more than a month after the outbreak of war in Gaza, the Houthi group has launched dozens of attacks on ships it claims are owned or operated by Israeli companies or transport goods to and from Israel, in solidarity with Gaza.

These attacks raised the concern of the major powers about the expansion of the scope of the Gaza war, which began on the seventh of last October and is still continuing regionally.