Canada and countries allied with the Iran-backed Houthis warned that they will bear responsibility for the consequences of their ongoing attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The statement, issued by the White House in Washington and signed by 12 countries in addition to the United States, said that the ongoing attacks are "illegal, unacceptable, and significantly destabilizing."

"There is no legal justification for deliberately targeting civilian and military ships. The attacks on ships, including commercial vessels, using drones, small boats, and missiles, including, for the first time, anti-ship ballistic missiles, pose a direct threat to freedom of navigation which forms the basis of global trade in one of the world's most important waterways," the statement said.

The Houthi rebel group launches long-range missiles at Israel from its bases in Yemen and attacks civilian cargo ships.

The statement added that the armed group has significantly escalated its attacks in the past week.

"These attacks threaten the lives of innocent people from all over the world and constitute a major international issue requiring collective action," the statement added.

The signatory countries also pointed out that "nearly 15% of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8% of global grain trade, 12% of maritime oil trade, and 8% of the world's liquefied natural gas trade."

"International shipping companies continue to reroute their ships around the Cape of Good Hope, causing significantly increased costs and weeks of delays in delivering goods, ultimately endangering the movement of food, fuel, and vital humanitarian aid worldwide," the statement added.

The signatory countries called for the immediate cessation of these attacks and the release of detained ships and their crews.

"We remain committed to the rules-based international order and are determined to hold malicious actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks," the 13 countries concluded in their statement.

The signatory countries, in addition to Canada and the United States, are Australia, Germany, Italy, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Singapore, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Japan.