By Tess Ikonomou in Canberra

Australia has supported strikes launched by the US and UK on Houthi rebels in Yemen who were blocking free maritime navigation.

The strikes were launched in response to the Iran-backed group blockading international shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of Palestine.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government will continue to support any actions that assert the global rules-based order and freedom of navigation.

“These are very important actions,” he told reporters in Geelong.

“The actions that have been taken today, supported by Australia, are about maintaining freedom of navigation on the high seas.

“They are about maintaining global trade, and that is completely central to Australia’s national interest. This decision was not taken lightly.”

Mr Marles would not confirm details of Australia’s involvement, revealed by US President Joe Biden.

“US military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.”

Australia’s support of the strikes included Defence personnel in a non-operational role, who were in the operational headquarters.

The government considered a US request to deploy a warship to the region but instead sent a contingent of ADF members.

Meanwhile, former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is urging the Albanese government not to back legal action accusing Israel of genocide.

The International Court of Justice is hearing South Africa’s case against Israel for its actions in Gaza.

Mr Joyce said Australia should not support the case against Israel, while taking a swipe at South Africa for violence within its own borders.

Independent senator David Pocock has urged Labor to support the case, pointing to the “extraordinary scale” of human suffering in Gaza including the deaths of children, health workers and journalists.

War has raged for almost 100 days after more than 1200 Israelis were killed and 240 others taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.

More than 23,000 Palestinians have since been killed by the Israeli military, with the United Nations warning half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are at risk of starvation.

Oxfam said Israel’s military was killing Palestinians at an average rate of 250 people a day, far exceeding the death toll of any other major 21st century conflict.