By The Smartencyclopedia Staff Writer with Agencies
Joint airstrikes conducted by the United States and the United Kingdom targeted Yemen’s Houthi rebels, resulting in at least 16 fatalities and injuring 42 others, according to statements released by the rebels on Friday. This incident marks the highest publicly acknowledged death toll from the multiple rounds of strikes carried out in response to the rebels’ recent attacks on international shipping.
Three U.S. officials, speaking anonymously due to the ongoing nature of the operations, described the strikes as targeting a comprehensive range of Houthi military assets. These included underground facilities, missile launchers, command and control sites, a Houthi vessel, and other significant installations. The officials emphasized that these actions were in response to a surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, exacerbated by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The U.S. F/A-18 fighter jets participating in the strikes launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea. Other U.S. warships in the region also took part in the operation.
On Friday morning, the Houthis reported that one of the airstrikes hit a building housing Hodeida Radio and several civilian homes in the Red Sea port city. Al Masirah, the Houthis’ satellite news channel, aired footage showing a bloodied man being carried downstairs and other injured individuals receiving treatment in a hospital. The channel claimed that all the deceased and nearly all the wounded were civilians, though this assertion could not be independently verified by The Associated Press. The Houthi forces, who have controlled Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014, often include fighters not in uniform.
Additional strikes were reported outside of Sanaa near its airport and targeted communication equipment in Taiz. These strikes likely hit Houthi military sites, given the limited information released. One person was reported wounded in Sanaa.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam condemned the airstrikes, linking them to Yemen’s support for Gaza amidst the conflict with Israel. “We confirm this brutal aggression against Yemen as punishment for its position in support of Gaza, in support of Israel to continue its crimes of genocide against the wounded, besieged, and steadfast Gaza Strip,” Abdulsalam posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, issued threats of further retaliation against both the U.S. and the U.K. “We will meet escalation with escalation,” he wrote on X.
Yemen’s military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree provided the casualty figures and claimed, without evidence, that the rebels had targeted the Eisenhower with drones and ballistic missiles. Another U.S. defense official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that the aircraft carrier was unharmed.
In the United Kingdom, the Defense Ministry confirmed that Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s conducted strikes in Hodeida and further south in Ghulayfiqah. The ministry described its targets as “buildings identified as housing drone ground control facilities and providing storage for very long-range drones, as well as surface-to-air weapons.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the strikes, stating, “The strikes were taken in self-defense in the face of an ongoing threat that the Houthis pose.”
The U.S. and the U.K. have been conducting strikes against the Houthis since January, with ongoing operations by the U.S. in subsequent months. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, previously reported an overall death toll from the strikes as 40 people killed and 35 others wounded, without specifying the breakdown between civilian and combatant casualties.
The Houthis have escalated attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, demanding an end to the Israel-Gaza conflict, which has resulted in over 36,000 Palestinian casualties. The conflict began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping since November, killing three sailors, seizing one vessel, and sinking another. This week, they attacked a ship carrying grain to Iran, their primary benefactor.
On Wednesday, another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone reportedly crashed in Yemen, with the Houthis claiming they downed it with a surface-to-air missile. The U.S. Air Force did not report any missing aircraft, suggesting the drone might have been operated by the CIA. Up to three drones may have been lost in May alone.
The joint US-British airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen represent a significant escalation in an already complex and protracted conflict. While intended to curb the rebels’ military capabilities and ensure the security of critical shipping routes, the strikes have also intensified the humanitarian crisis and added new layers of complexity to the geopolitical landscape. The international community continues to call for a ceasefire and a negotiated peace settlement, but achieving lasting stability in Yemen remains a formidable challenge.