The French army announced, on Thursday, the arrival of a second warship in the Red Sea region as part of efforts aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation.

The French army said in a weekly press briefing that the Alsace warship had crossed the Suez Canal and would continue its mission in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

French officials said that the two ships will remain under French command, noting that the main mission is to escort ships linked to France, according to Reuters.

The army added, “In close cooperation with the Allies, French warships contribute to respect for international law and freedom of navigation.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France did not participate in the US-led strikes against the Houthis because it wanted to avoid regional escalation.

The French warship's accession comes a day after the Houthi group announced that it had hit an American warship and forced two American commercial ships to retreat south of the Red Sea, in the latest attack launched by the group in the region of strategic importance.

The military spokesman for Ansar Allah Houthis, Yahya Saree, said in a statement read yesterday evening, Wednesday, that the movement’s forces clashed with American destroyers and warships in both the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab, adding that the clash lasted for more than two hours, during which they used a number of ballistic missiles.

The Houthis are carrying out attacks on commercial ships that they say are linked to Israel, in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, while the United States, with the participation of Britain, is trying to deter them by launching strikes on their military sites.

Many shipping companies diverted their commercial ships to other routes following the attacks launched by the Houthi group in the Red Sea, which they say are in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Languedoc warship has already been patrolling the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since December 8, along with an international mission led by the United States to protect ships from attacks