SANAA/ GAZA: Following weeks of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi forces operating in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, heavy airstrikes by the US and the UK hit targets in Yemen early on Friday.
Since the start of the Gaza conflict, the Houthis have attacked Israel-affiliated shipping in the vital international trade route an increasing number of times.
Since a civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, the Houthi forces have dominated a significant portion of the country and are a component of the “axis of resistance” that is positioned against Israel.
According to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV station, the strikes on Friday targeted an airbase, airports, and a military camp. AFP correspondents and witnesses also reported hearing explosions.
Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi claimed, “Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines, and warplanes,” as reported by official rebel media.
“America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” he stated.
Following the attacks in the Red Sea, US President Joe Biden described the US and British strikes as a “defensive action” and declared that he “will not hesitate” to order additional military action if necessary.
The US Air Forces Central Command released a statement stating that fighter planes and Tomahawk missiles were used in the operations. More than 100 precision-guided munitions struck sixty targets at sixteen Houthi positions, according to the statement.
“Today, at my direction, 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,” Biden said in a press release.
Unconfirmed photos circulating on social media, some allegedly taken at the Al-Dailami airbase north of Sanaa, featured explosions lighting up the sky accompanied by loud bangs and the sound of jets taking off.
The Houthis’ “unprecedented” attacks prompted what Biden described as a “direct response,” “including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.”
“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” he stated.
Blaming the Houthi for rejecting “repeated warnings”, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement the strikes were “necessary and proportionate”.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes “targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities”.
A joint statement by the United States, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea said the “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 in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,” it concluded.
The Houthis declared that there was “no justification” for the airstrikes and threatened to carry out more attacks on ships that are connected to Israel.
“We affirm 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, and the targeting was and will continue to affect Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Mohammed Abdulsalam, the spokesman for the Houthi
Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbor, advised against escalation as it attempts to withdraw from its nine-year conflict with the Houthis.
A statement from the foreign ministry said, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following the military operations with great concern” and urged “self-restraint and avoiding escalation.”
