Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said yesterday that they would continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden despite a ceasefire deal with the United States.

"The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones," Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.

"Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships," he said.

On Tuesday, Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the Iran-backed rebels that "neither side will target the other... ensuring freedom of navigation" in the Red Sea.

US President Donald Trump had trumpeted the deal, saying the Houthis had "capitulated" after seven weeks of intense strikes aimed at stopping their attacks on shipping.

"They just don't want to fight. And we will honour that and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated," Trump said during a White House press appearance.

"They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that's... the purpose of what we were doing."

The deal was revealed after a Huthi missile strike on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday prompted Israeli raids that killed seven and closed Sanaa airport.

The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing on Israel-linked shipping in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the US and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.

The Houthis, part of the Iran-backed "axis of resistance" opposing the US and Israel, say their campaign -- which also includes a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory -- is in solidarity with the Palestinians.