US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched military strikes against Yemen’s Houthis over their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, warning that “hell will come down on you” if they do not stop targeting merchant and US warships.
Trump also warned Iran, which backs the Houthis, to immediately stop supporting the group. He said that if Iran threatens the United States, “America will hold you accountable and we will not be nice!”
The attack came just days after the Houthis announced plans to launch renewed attacks on Israeli shipping passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative peace that began in January with a cease-fire in Gaza.
The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, saying they were doing so in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s attack on Gaza.
During that period, the group sank two ships, seized one and killed at least four seamen in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to take longer and more expensive routes around southern Africa.
“The Houthi attack on American ships will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we achieve our goal,” Trump wrote on social media.
Yemen’s Ministry of Health and Environment said airstrikes killed nine civilians and injured nine others, most of them seriously, in a residential area north of Sana’a, SABA news agency reported.
The ministry condemned the targeting of civilians and civilian objects, which represents a war crime and a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions, reports the agency.
