DOHA, Qatar

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday there is a need to address the growing challenges facing international maritime trade in the Red Sea amid regional tensions.

"We have problems with ship crossings and maritime shipping,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said during the Qatar Economic Forum organized by Bloomberg in Doha. “These are crises and problems that must be addressed."

“In solidarity with Gaza,” which has been under an Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7, the Yemeni Houthi group has targeted ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean with missiles and drones.

In response to Washington and London's airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen as part of an alliance since the beginning of 2024, the group announced it considers all American and British ships as military targets.

Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala El-Saeed announced last week a 50% decline in revenues from the Suez Canal due to tensions in the Red Sea.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7 which killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 35,180 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed, and more than 79,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio