Britain will join an international coalition protecting commercial ships in the Red Sea from Houthi rebels firing missiles from Yemen.

The United States said several countries have agreed to jointly carry out patrols in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to try to safeguard commercial shipping against attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

US warships have in recent days shot down Houthi missiles and drones and rush to the aid of commercial ships under attack.

It identified participating nations led by the United States as including among others Bahrain, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

It comes as the Houthis have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show their support for Hamas.

The attacks, targeting a route that allows East-West trade, especially of oil, to use the Suez Canal to save the time and expense of circumnavigating Africa, have pushed some shipping companies to re-route vessels.

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