New US air strikes on Yemen pile pressure on Houthis

The US has carried out new air strikes on Yemen, the Houthis' Al Masirah TV said, expanding the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Responding to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement's threats to international shipping, the US launched a new wave of air strikes on Saturday. On Monday, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and Al Jawf governorate north of the capital Sanaa were targeted, Al Masirah said.

At least 53 people have been killed in the attacks, the Houthi-run health ministry said on Sunday. Five children and two women were among the victims and 98 have been hurt

The Houthis, an armed movement that has taken control of the most populous parts of Yemen despite nearly a decade of Saudi-led bombing, have launched scores of attacks on ships off its coast since November 2023, disrupting global commerce.

The strikes, which one US official told Reuters might continue for weeks, come as Washington ramps up sanctions pressure on Iran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.

The Houthis say their attacks, which have forced companies to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.

The US and its allies characterise them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Sunday the militants would target US ships in the Red Sea as long as the US continues attacks on Yemen.

Under the direction of al-Houthi, who is in his 40s, the ragtag group has become an army of tens of thousands of fighters and acquired an arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia and the West say the arms come from Iran. Tehran denies this.

While Iran champions the Houthis, the Houthis deny being puppets of Tehran, and experts on Yemen say they are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda.

The Houthis' military spokesman, without providing evidence, said in a televised statement early on Monday that the group had launched a second attack against the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea.

The Houthis are part of what has been called the "Axis of Resistance" - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias that also includes the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah as is backed by Iran.

Israel has severely weakened many of Iran's regional allies since being attacked by Hamas gunmen in October 2023.

Israel has assassinated the top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, and the fall of another Iranian ally, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, also dealt a blow to Tehran. But the Houthis, who defied a Saudi-led bombing campaign for nearly a decade, are still standing, along with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

The Houthis said last week they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea if Israel did not lift a block on aid entering Gaza. Its fighters have also fired drones and missiles towards Israel.

Israel, which has hit multiple Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, has warned the militants to halt their strikes, saying they risked the same "miserable fate" as Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad. Trump has warned Iran to halt support for the Houthis.

US warplanes shot down 11 Houthi drones on Sunday, a US official told Reuters. US forces also tracked a missile that splashed down off the coast of Yemen, the official said.