The US and the UK launched another round of joint missile strikes in Yemen on Saturday night as the situation in the Red Sea continues to escalate, and the Houthis show no sign of backing down.
US Central Command said strikes were launched against 13 targets in 36 locations in Houthi-controlled Yemen, where most of Yemen’s population lives. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea reported 48 strikes in multiple governorates, including Sanaa, Hodeidah, Taiz, al-Bayda, Hajjah, and Saada.
CENTCOM claimed the strikes hit “multiple underground storage facilities, command and control, missile systems, UAV storage and operations sites, radars, and helicopters.” The command said the bombing was supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
A few hours later, CENTCOM said it launched another strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile. On Sunday, the command said it launched two rounds of strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles, bringing the total US rounds of bombings in Yemen to 18 since January 12.
President Biden’s new war against the Houthis has dramatically escalated tensions as the Houthis are now targeting American and British commercial shipping.
Sarea reaffirmed that the US and British attacks will not stop the Houthis from targeting Israel-linked commercial shipping to support Gaza. Before Biden began bombing the Houthis, the group made it clear the only way its attacks on Israeli shipping would stop was if the slaughter in Gaza was brought to an end.
“These attacks will not deter us from our moral, religious and humanitarian stance in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and will not pass without response and punishment,” Sarea wrote on X.
The US backed a Saudi/UAE-led coalition against the Houthis in a brutal war that killed 377,000 people between 2015 and 2022. During that time, the Houthis only became a more formidable fighting force and developed missile and drone technology that gave them the ability to hit Saudi oil infrastructure. A ceasefire between the Saudis and Houthis has held relatively well since April 2022, but the new US bombing campaign threatens the fragile truce.
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
