Death toll from US attacks on Yemen rises to 53: Houthis

The Houthi-run Ministry of Health, which is not internationally recognized, said the dead included five children and two women, while nine children and nine women were among the wounded.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group retaliated by targeting the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying warships in the northern Red Sea with 18 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone.

Saree linked the attack to the US’s launch of over 47 airstrikes on Yemen on Saturday, which marked the first US military action there since a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas took effect in January.

The Houthis warned Israel on March 7 to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip within four days or face renewed maritime operations against Israeli-linked vessels.

The US launched air raids on Yemen’s Houthis as President Donald Trump warned that “hell will rain down” if the Iran-backed group continues its attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The Houthis have been attacking Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade for what it said was a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and Hamas. But it threatened to resume the attacks when Israel blocked all aid into Gaza on March 2.