ROME: Italy will become a target if it takes part in attacks against Yemen, a senior official from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said in an interview published on Monday.

Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthi's supreme revolutionary committee, told daily La Repubblica that Italy must be neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and put pressure on Israel to stop attacks on Gaza, adding that would be the only way to achieve peace in the region.

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Italy said on Friday it would provide the admiral in command of a European Union Red Sea naval mission it has joined to protect ships from attacks by Houthis.

The mandate of the mission, which will be launched in mid-February, will be to protect commercial ships and intercept attacks, but not take part in strikes against the Houthis, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said.