The United Nations Security Council calls on the Houthis to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling on Yemen's Houthi rebels to halt their offensive in the Red Sea and release the leader of the Japanese-led Galaxy, arrested last year. Eleven members of Congress voted Wednesday in favor of a bill requiring the Iran-allied Houthis to "immediately cease all attacks that disrupt global trade, navigation rights, freedoms and regional peace."

Four countries, including Algeria, China, Mozambique, and Russia, abstained. No one voted against it. China and Russia have veto power as permanent members of the Security Council but have decided not to use it. "The message the world is sending to the Houthis today is clear: Stop these attacks immediately," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement after the vote. The United States co-sponsored the resolution with Japan. "With this resolution, the Council has fulfilled its responsibility to ensure the free movement of legal transit through the Red Sea without obstruction," Thomas-Greenfield added.

The US says the Iran-backed Houthis have attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea 26 times since taking control of the Galaxy Leader and its multinational crew of 25 on November 19. The Houthi rebels say they are targeting ships linked to or linked to Israel in protest of the ongoing war in Gaza. But most ships have no connection to Israel, and many routes have begun to avoid the region altogether.

The main provisions of the resolution establish the right of UN member states to "defend their ships against attacks, including attacks that violate the rights and freedom of navigation" by international law. The provision is a tacit endorsement of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a US-led multinational naval task force that includes Britain and Norway, set up in December to protect commercial shipping from Houthi attacks.

Norway has the largest merchant fleet in the world and its ships are increasingly targeted by the Houthi rebels. On Wednesday morning, the US military said it had shot down 21 Houthi missiles and drones as part of a "comprehensive attack" on sea lanes in the southern Red Sea. Britain, which worked with the US to thwart the Houthi offensive, said it was the biggest offensive in the region.

The United States has accused Iran of violating UN Security Council resolutions and providing critical support to the Houthi rebels, including with advanced missiles and drones. Tehran denies the allegations. Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, dismissed the UN resolution as a "political game" and said the United States was violating international law.

The Red Sea connects the Middle East and Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal and the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait. About 10 percent of all oil trade and about $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait each year.

At the time of the hijacking, the Galaxy Leader (although ultimately owned by a company linked to an Israeli businessman) was operated by a Japanese shipping company with crews from Bulgaria, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, and Ukraine. The Houthi rebels have been waging a civil war against the Yemeni government since 2014.