U.S. bombing dents but doesn't destroy Houthi threat in Yemen

A nearly two-month-long U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen dealt heavy damage to the Iran-aligned Houthis but U.S. officials and experts caution that the group is expected to remain a vexing adversary despite a ceasefire announced on Tuesday by Washington.

President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will stop bombing the Houthis because they had agreed to stop attacking crucial shipping lanes under a deal that Oman said it mediated.

While the chief Houthi negotiator confirmed the ceasefire to Reuters, he said it did not extend to close U.S. ally Israel and he did not rule out attacks on Israel-linked vessels or targets. The group says it is acting in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinians.

In March, Trump ordered the Pentagon to intensify strikes against the Houthis, in an operation known as Rough Rider. Since then, the U.S. military says it has struck more than 1,000 targets and says it has killed hundreds of the group's fighters along with some military leaders.

But after weeks of intensive U.S. strikes, the Houthis, who have controlled most of Yemen for nearly a decade, were still able to strike Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, in a dramatic illustration of their resilience.

"(This operation shows) the Houthis can survive pretty much any bombing campaign," said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The group had carried out over 100 attacks on shipping lanes since Israel's war with Hamas began in October 2023.

Under the agreement, Oman said in its statement, neither the U.S. nor the Houthis would target the other, including U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Pentagon was notified as early as Monday evening that a ceasefire was possible, a second U.S. official told Reuters.

The Houthis endured nearly a decade of heavy strikes launched by a Saudi-led military coalition, but were able to rebuild to the point where they could threaten the U.S. Navy and Israel.

U.S. bombings have killed a significant number of mid-tier Houthi fighters who trained lower-level forces, a third U.S. official said, adding "their will to continue has been dramatically reduced."

Michael Knights, an expert on Yemen at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think-tank, said the group could recover if weaponry continues to flow from its ally Iran.

"As long as the Houthis maintain a line of resupply to Iran and the Iranians continue to provide it, then it's not going to have any lasting effect," Knights told Reuters.

"They can recover."

DEPLETED BUT STILL POTENT

Under Joe Biden's administration, the United States and Britain retaliated with airstrikes on Houthi targets in an effort to keep open the Red Sea trading route - the path for about 15% of global shipping traffic.

Trump decided to intensify air strikes against the Houthis.

As of last month, ballistic missile launches by the Houthis dropped by 69% while drone attacks were down by more than 50% since the start of the campaign, according to the U.S. military.

But the group's attack on Israel on Sunday showed it can still stir chaos and escalate tensions in the region. Israel retaliated by launching airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port and its main airport in Sanaa.

Last week, a U.S. F-18 jet and its tow tractor fell overboard from an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

While the event is still under investigation, officials told Reuters the Harry S. Truman carrier had to make a sharp turn because of a Houthi attack in the region. A second F-18 went off the side of the carrier into the sea on Tuesday.

The Houthi campaign has also been expensive for the U.S. military. The cost of the operation will likely be measured in the billions of dollars, according to a U.S. official.

The Houthis have also shot down seven U.S. MQ-9 drones -- each worth tens of millions of dollars -- in or around Yemen since Trump took office.

"What this shows is that the Houthis still have significant capabilities," the first official said.