Houthis vow response as US says ‘unrelenting’ strikes to continue in Yemen

Yemen’s Houthis have vowed to retaliate and “meet escalation with escalation” after the United States ordered air strikes against the group that killed at least 31 people on Saturday.

The Houthi political bureau said on Sunday that the deadly strikes constituted a “war crime”.

Houthi Health Ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi said Saturday’s attacks targeted the capital, Sanaa, and areas in Saada, Al Bayda and Radaa, killing at least 31 people and wounding 101, “most of whom were children and women”.

After ordering the attacks, US President Donald Trump said he would use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along the crucial maritime corridor in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, who began their attacks on shipping containers in response to Israel’s war on Gaza in 2023, and in defence of the Palestinians, reiterated on Sunday in separate comments that the “naval operation will continue until [the] Gaza blockade is lifted and aid is let in”.

The Houthis had halted the attacks when the Gaza ceasefire took effect in January and have not launched any attacks in the two months since.

At the beginning of March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the entry of aid deliveries to Gaza was being suspended in a move to pressure Hamas into accepting an extension of the first stage of the ceasefire deal instead of moving on to the next stage, which would negotiate an end to the war.

On Tuesday the Houthis announced they would resume attacks after their deadline for Israel to allow the resumption of aid deliveries into Gaza passed.

On Sunday morning, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington would conduct “unrelenting” strikes against the Houthis until they stop targeting US assets and global shipping.

Speaking to Fox News, Hegseth said the campaign was a response to the numerous attacks the Houthis have launched on ships since November 2023 and served as a warning to Iran to cease supporting the group.

“This will continue until you say ‘We’re done shooting at ships. We’re done shooting at assets,'” Hegseth said.

The US and some of its allies have bombed Yemen with cruise missiles on several occasions since January 2024 as Israel’s war in Gaza raged and the Houthis continued their sustained maritime campaign.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced that the US military campaign would continue until the group could no longer strike ships. He blamed Iran for supporting the Houthis.

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC that the strikes “actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out”.

There has been no confirmation from the Houthis about Waltz’s comments.

‘Misguided’

Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s decision to launch attacks against the Houthis is “misguided”.

The Houthis, who have been “bombed severely all over their territory” in the past, are not likely to be subdued through “a few weeks of bombing”, Khoury said, adding that attacks on shipping containers could be resolved through diplomacy.

As Trump warned Iran to stop supporting the Houthis and vowed to hold Tehran “fully accountable” for the actions of the group, General Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), denied his country was involved in the Houthis’ attacks.

According to state-run TV, Salami said on Sunday that Iran “plays no role in setting the national or operational policies” of the groups it is aligned with across the region.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also urged the US to halt the strikes on a post on X and said Washington could not dictate Iran’s foreign policy.