The US strikes, which began on Saturday and continued into the early hours of Sunday, on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as well as areas in Saada, al-Bayda and Radaa, killed 31 people and wounded 101, “most of whom were children and women”, spokesperson for Yemen’s Ministry of Health, Anis al-Asbahi, posted on X.
The US raids on Yemen marked the most significant military action of Trump’s second term, to date.
“Your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today. If they don’t, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social, his social media site.
“I have ordered the US military today to launch a decisive and powerful military operation against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” he continued, adding that Washington “will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective”.
In his Truth Social statement, Trump also told Tehran it needed to immediately stop supporting the Houthis. He stated if Iran threatens the US, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
The Houthi group warned that the assault “will not pass without response”. The Houthi website slammed what it called “US-British aggression” and Washington’s “criminal brutality”.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have yet to attack any ships despite threatening to do so last week over Israel’s blockade on all food, fuel and other supplies into the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Houthis accused the US of overstating the threat to shipping operations to influence public opinion.
“What the US president claims about a threat to international navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is false and misleading to international public opinion,” Mohammed Abdul-Salam said.
“The maritime embargo declared by Yemen in support of Gaza is limited only to Israeli navigation until humanitarian aid is delivered to the people of Gaza, according to the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance and the enemy entity,” he added.
The Political Bureau of the Houthis also issued a separate statement, describing the attacks as a “war crime” and promised to respond.
“The aggression will not go unanswered,” it said, adding, “Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation.”
The Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping since November 2023, following Israel’s war on the besieged enclave, disrupting global commerce and setting the US military on a costly campaign to intercept missiles and drones that burned through stocks of US air defences.
The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the US also designated the Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, as a “foreign terrorist” organisation.
