ISMAILIA, Egypt, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie said on Wednesday there is a slight improvement in navigation through the canal during March.

The number of ships passing through the canal in March increased by 2.4 percent compared to January, Rabie announced during a ceremony in Ismailia Governorate in northeast Egypt, celebrating the achievements made by the canal over the past few years.

He added that the waterway recorded an 8.8 percent increase in revenues compared to January.

The SCA chief also noted that 264 ships adjusted their routes to pass through the Suez Canal instead of the Cape of Good Hope since the beginning of February.

"The United States is currently attacking the Houthis in Yemen, and it remains unclear whether these U.S. attacks have weakened the Houthis' ability to target shipping in the Red Sea," Rabie told Xinhua.

Egypt, which relies heavily on revenue from the Suez Canal, has repeatedly called for calm following a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

In March, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that due to the regional turmoil -- including attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis -- the Suez Canal was losing approximately 800 million U.S. dollars in revenue each month.

The U.S. military has resumed airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen since March 15 in a bid to deter the group from attacking Israeli targets, the U.S. Navy, and international shipping lanes in the region.

However, the Houthi group responded by affirming its unwavering support for Gaza. It has resumed attacks on Israeli targets and U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, as Israel ended a January ceasefire with Hamas and restarted military operations in Gaza. Enditem

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