British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday.

The defence ministry said the deployment formed part of “additional defensive military support” to Riyadh.

“The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement.

“These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.”

Britain will also deploy a military transport aircraft “to support the movement of defence material within Saudi Arabia alongside UK military advisers to support Saudi staff officers”, the statement added.

“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” said Defence Minister Wes Streeting.

“The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to (to) escalate the situation in the region,” he added.

The Saudi capital’s international airport has been targeted by strikes 20 times since the beginning of the month, with a recent attack killing 13 people and wounding more than 300.

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.

Yemen’s civil war — in which Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting the government since 2015 — reignited in September after the collapse of a years-long truce.

Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government and the United States accuse Iran of backing the Houthis — an allegation Tehran denies.