As Israel's war with Hamas escalated, the United States and the United Kingdom have entered the war launching an attack on Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Abdulsalam Jahaf who confirmed the attack on Friday, said the US and UK are striking the cities of Sanaa and Hodeidah.
Washington and London have not made any official announcements as of yet concerning the attacks.
However, multiple British and American outlets reported that an attack was “imminent” on Thursday evening, citing anonymous sources inside the White House and 10 Downing Street.
“Now America, Britain, and Israel are launching raids on Hodeidah, Sanaa, Dhamar, and Saada,” Jahaf said on X (formerly Twitter). “We will discipline them, God willing.”
There were at least three explosions in Sanaa, Reuters reported citing local witnesses.
Officially known as Ansar Allah (‘Supporters of God’), the Houthis declared solidarity with Gaza in late October, reacting to Israel’s offensive against the Palestinian enclave. They have since carried out over 20 attacks on various shipping vessels in the Red Sea, a major trade route connecting Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. Major shipping companies have responded by rerouting their ships around Africa, driving up prices and insurance costs.
On Tuesday, the US Central Command announced that its ships and airplanes shot down more than 20 missiles and drones launched at vessels in the Red Sea.
“We cannot have a situation where a major sea route, a major ability to move goods around the world is being cut off by terrorists and thugs and we therefore must act,” British Defense Secretary Grant Schapps said after the incident.
Jahaf responded to threats from Washington and London by declaring on X that the Houthis will “respond to any American aggression,” and make the US “kneel and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who co-operates with it, no matter what the cost.”
“The world must prepare to hear America's defeat, and I say it with all pride: We will tread on America with our feet, and whoever does not know us, the battlefields will know about our strength and strength,” Jahaf had said.
Between 2015 and 2023, the Houthis had fought to a standstill a regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia that sought to restore the previous Yemeni government to power, RT reports.
The US had backed the Saudis with intelligence and military supplies.
One of the poorest countries in the region, Yemen has been plagued by an intermittent civil war for nearly a decade. It was further devastated by a Saudi-led intervention, which began in 2015 intending to expel the Houthis.
The Houthis have insisted that airstrikes by the US and UK will not make them stop their attacks on vessels off Yemen’s coast. “The targeting was and will continue to affect Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on Twitter.
Speaking about the actions by Washington and London, Abdulsalam stressed that “there is absolutely no justification for this aggression against Yemen, as there was no threat to international navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas.”
US Central Command has said that “over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations” were struck in Yemen. The facilities included “command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems,” according to CENTCOM.
Tehran “strongly” condemns the strikes by the US and UK on targets inside Yemen, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani has said. “We consider it a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws, regulations, and rights,” Kanaani stressed, as cited by the Nournews outlet.
Anti-war protesters gathered at Times Square in New York and outside the White House in Washington, DC, chanting “Let Yemen live” and “Hands off Yemen.” They also expressed solidarity with Palestine.
The US Central Command posted a video of its jets taking off from an aircraft carrier in the middle of the night. CENTCOM Commander, General Michael Kurilla, said that the Houthis “will be held accountable” for their “illegal and dangerous actions.”
Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, and South Korea voiced their support for the US-British bombardment.
“Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let our message be clear: we will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce,” the countries said in a joint statement released by the White House.
American and British aircraft targeted Al-Dailami Air Base, north of Sanaa, local Al-Masirah TV station said.
Lebanese news channel Al Mayadden cited its reporter on the ground as saying that the Hodeidah Airport was also targeted.
Fadel Abu Taleb, a senior Houthi official, wrote on X that the bombardment “will not achieve any results and will not be able to discourage the Yemeni people from continuing their support for the Palestinians.”
Another senior Houthi official, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, described the coalition’s attack as “the greatest folly in their history,” according to Al Jazeera.
Riyadh has called for “restraint” and urged to “avoid escalation.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations taking place in the Red Sea and the raids on a number of sites in the Republic of Yemen,” the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said in statement, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
The strikes targeted “sites associated with the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. He added that the US reserved the right to “take follow-on actions” to protect its forces.
UK Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps announced that four Eurofighter Typhoon jets “conducted precision strikes on two Houthi military sites.”
Russia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday to discuss the ongoing escalation in Yemen.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak released a statement in the early hours of Friday, saying that the Royal Air Force “has carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen.”
The PM accused the Houthis of “destabilizing” commercial shipping in the Red Sea. “Their reckless actions are risking lives at sea and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Sunak said.
“This cannot stand,” he added, describing the strikes as “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense.”