WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the military operations against Yemen's Houthi force, the White House said late Wednesday.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, announced late Wednesday that his country and its Gulf allies have launched airstrikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen to protect the legitimate government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

While American forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, the U.S. is establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support, Bernadette Meehan, a spokesperson with White House' s National Security Council said in a statement.

"The United States strongly condemns ongoing military actions taken by the Houthis against the elected government of Yemen," Meehan said, adding that Washington has been in close contact with Hadi and U.S. allies in the region.

The US also "strongly" urges the Houthis to halt immediately their destabilizing military actions and return to negotiations as part of the political dialogue, Meehan said.

At the same time, the US continues to closely monitor terrorist threats posed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and will continue to take action as necessary to disrupt continuing, imminent threats to the United States, the spokesperson added.