Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said that at least four underwater communications cables — Asia-Africa-Europe 1, the Europe India Gateway, Seacom and TGN-Gulf — had been damaged last week in the Red Sea, without stating the cause, Reuters reports.

It estimated that the damage had affected 25 per cent of the data traffic flowing under the Red Sea, and said in a statement that it had devised a plan to reroute traffic.

Telecommunications ministry on Saturday blamed US and British attacks for any damage to cables.

In the latest incident, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Monday it had received a report that a vessel had been damaged by two explosions, 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden, but there were no casualties and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.

Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said there “is good reason to doubt” that the Houthis would stop their assaults on vessels if a ceasefire ends Israel’s major military operations in Gaza.

“They may decide that they like the idea of controlling the amount of shipping going through the Red Sea, and will continue this for an indefinite period of time,” Gates said at the TPM24 container shipping conference in Long Beach, California.