At
least eight of the countries who have signed up have also declined to be
publicly named, in a sign of political sensitivities of the operation as
regional tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war.
"We've had
over 20 nations now sign on to participate," Major General Patrick Ryder
said, noting declarations by Greece and Australia.
"We'll allow
other countries, defer to them to talk about their participation."
The United States launched Operation Prosperity
Guardian two days ago, saying more than a dozen countries had agreed to
participate in an effort that will involve joint patrols in Red Sea waters near
Yemen.
Each country will
contribute what they can, Ryder said, dubbing it a "coalition of the
willing."
The crisis in the
Red Sea has grown out of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel's retaliatory bombardment and invasion of
Gaza, which Israeli officials state is aimed at wiping out Hamas, has killed
nearly 20,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the densely
populated, coastal enclave.
Western
media reports that Houthis and Hezbollah have fired rockets at Israel
since the conflict began. The Houthis, meanwhile, have stepped up their Red Sea
attacks, threatening to target all ships heading to Israel and warning shipping
companies against dealing with Israeli ports.
The attacks have
disrupted a key trade route that links Europe and North America with Asia via
the Suez Canal and caused container shipping costs to rise sharply as companies
seek to ship their goods via alternative, often longer, routes.
The US Navy,
British and French navies have responded by shooting down Houthi drones and
missiles, defensive actions that some critics in Washington say don't go far
enough to discourage the Houthis from continuing their attacks.
