Today, Wednesday, the US Navy announced the establishment of a new "task force" with allied countries to patrol the Red Sea waters off Yemen.

The launch of the new force comes amid a two-month truce in Yemen's nearly 7-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the US Fifth Fleet, said that the new force will operate from next Sunday in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden, and will aim to address human trafficking, drug smuggling and other illegal goods.

"These are strategically important waters that demand our attention," Cooper told reporters.

He expressed the hope that the new squad, consisting of two to eight ships at a time, would target those smuggling coal, drugs, weapons and people across the Red Sea.

In response to a question about the missiles and drones used by the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Cooper said that the new force would affect the Houthis' ability to obtain such weapons.

He added that they will be able to do this more dynamically and directly than they are doing today.

Cooper stated that the joint forces will witness the joining of the USS Mount Whitney, a Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ship that was previously part of the Sixth Fleet of the African and European Navy.

The Joint Naval Forces Command in the Middle East consists of 34 countries, and is supervised by Major General Cooper from a base in Bahrain. It also has 3 task forces that deal with piracy and security issues inside and outside the Arabian Gulf.

Recently, the Houthis seized an Emirati ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast, but the Saudi-led Arab coalition confirmed in a statement that the ship was carrying medical equipment.

A US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the waters between Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen were known "smuggling corridors" for weapons destined for the Houthis.

Iran has long been accused of smuggling weapons to the Houthis, a charge Tehran denies.

The United States provided additional military aid to Saudi Arabia and the UAE this year in the wake of the Houthi attacks on the two countries.

But diplomatic sources said the Gulf states are still not convinced that the United States is committed to supporting the region.