Fifty-three people, including five children, have been killed in the latest U.S. airstrike targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
According to the Houthis, the U.S. launched airstrikes on Monday morning in the Al-Jawf and Hudaydah regions. The U.S. had also conducted airstrikes against the Houthis on Saturday.
The attacks are said to be in response to the Houthis’ assaults on the Red Sea, with the U.S. aiming to curb their actions.
The U.S. has claimed that several Houthi leaders were killed in its attacks.
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes specifically targeted and eliminated multiple Houthi leaders. However, the Houthis have not confirmed these claims.
Anis al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi health ministry, stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the death toll had reached 53, including five children and two women, while 98 others were injured.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that missile strikes will continue as long as Houthi attacks persist.
Meanwhile, the Houthis have warned that they will keep targeting U.S. and Israeli ships in the Red Sea unless Israel lifts its blockade on Gaza and the U.S. stops attacking Yemen.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi declared, “As long as the U.S. continues its aggression against Yemen, American ships will remain in our crosshairs.”
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group considers Israel its enemy and controls the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, as well as northwestern parts of the country.
The Houthis claim their attacks are in response to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, stating that they are acting in support of Palestinians. They insist they are only targeting ships linked to Israel, the U.S., or the UK.
Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched dozens of missile, drone, and small boat attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have sunk two ships, seized one, and killed four crew members in these assaults.
