WASHINGTON — The US military struck additional Houthi missile launch sites in Yemen overnight on Tuesday after a previous wave of dozens of allied-supported strikes last week failed to stop the rebels from launching missiles at vessels in the Red Sea.

The new US strikes hit four Iranian-made ballistic missiles that were “prepared to launch” on the ground and that “presented an imminent threat” to merchant and US Navy ships, two defense officials informed Al-Monitor.

The Pentagon’s apparent shift to more aggressive preemptive measures came as the Houthis showed no signs of giving up on their attacks, which they claim are a response to Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis hit a US-owned container ship with a ballistic missile and fired a cruise missile at a US Navy destroyer in the 36 hours leading up to the pre-dawn US strikes on Tuesday.