U.S. intensifies strikes on Houthis as tensions escalate in Yemen

Yemen's Houthi rebels reported on Thursday that two people were killed and two others injured following a series of overnight airstrikes they blamed on the United States. 

According to the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, around twenty strikes targeted areas in the Sanaa governorate, both north and south of the Yemeni capital.

The spokesman for the Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health, Anis Al-Asbahi, confirmed the casualties on his X account, accusing the U.S. of aggression. Al-Masirah also reported additional strikes early Thursday in Saada, a northern stronghold of the Iran-backed rebels. This follows 17 strikes in the same area on Wednesday, according to Houthi media outlets.

The United States launched a military campaign on March 15 targeting the Houthis in response to their continued attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden—key maritime corridors for global trade. 

According to the Houthis, those initial U.S. strikes killed 53 people, including women and children. Washington, however, claimed to have eliminated several high-ranking Houthi operatives.

Since then, Houthi sources have frequently reported U.S. air raids in rebel-held territories. While the U.S. Department of Defense does not confirm each strike individually, a Pentagon official told AFP that “day and night operations continue” against multiple Houthi targets in Yemen.

In retaliation, the Houthis claim to have launched multiple attacks on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, stationed off the Yemeni coast. They also say they have fired missiles at Israel, intensifying regional tensions.

The Houthi escalation coincides with the war in Gaza, which began following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Houthis, who openly support Hamas, say their actions in the Red Sea and beyond are in “solidarity with the Palestinian people.”