Group with ties to Iran denounces attacks as “barbaric” and vows to keep attacking ships that are sailing towards Israel.
US, UK defend Yemen bombings as ally Israel faces Gaza genocide charges pic.twitter.com/ImVu1a5MYX
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President Biden declared in a statement on Thursday night that the United States and the United Kingdom had launched strikes on targets in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands provided help in carrying out the strikes.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden stated, adding that he would “not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
According to a Houthi military spokesman, at least five persons have died and six more have been wounded as a result of the 73 attacks.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree made the following statement during a filmed speech: “The criminal aggression against our Yemeni people is entirely the fault of the American and British adversary. We won’t tolerate this aggressiveness in response. In defence of Yemen, its sovereignty, and its independence, the Yemeni military forces will not think twice about striking any hostile targets or sources of threat, both on land and at sea.”
Officials declined to identify exactly where and what the attacks hit, but U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement the strikes “targeted the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, uncrewed surface vessel, land-attack cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities.”
According to a U.S. defence official, Austin, who was admitted to the hospital following surgery to treat prostate cancer, watched the procedure live from the hospital due to an infection. According to the official, Austin was “actively involved” and had spoken with the president twice in the seventy-two hours preceding the procedure.
U.S. Central Command stated in a statement Thursday night that it targeted “over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations” and that the targets included “command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defence radar systems.”
Reporters were informed Thursday night by a senior military official that the strikes were carried out from sub-surface, surface, and air platforms.
The Houthis were first threatened with dire consequences by the United States and other nations if they persisted in their attacks, which began soon after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out.
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea all released a joint statement claiming that the strikes were a reaction to the “continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilising Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea.”
“These precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” added the statement.
In a statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the strikes as “limited, necessary, and proportionate” and mentioned that Bahrain, the Netherlands, and Canada had given “non-operational support.”
CBS News was informed on Thursday by a congressional source with knowledge of the situation that “the Biden administration briefed congressional leaders today on the plans to strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.”
According to a top military officer, as of Thursday night, there is no proof that the Houthis had attacked any American, British, or other vessels in the Red Sea. However, they would not be shocked if they did.
On Tuesday, the Houthis carried out one of their biggest attacks to yet in the Red Sea. According to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), three American destroyers, along with F-18s and a British warship, shot down several missiles and eighteen drones that were being launched from Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen.
Within a week of a joint statement from the United States and several other countries warning that the Houthis would suffer “consequences” if the strikes persisted, Tuesday’s “complex attack,” as CENTCOM described it, took place.
The joint statement issued by the White House last Wednesday stated, “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”
A senior administration official informed reporters on Thursday night that, in the wake of Tuesday’s incident, President Biden met with his national security team and was given options for a military response. After that discussion, Mr. Biden gave Austin instructions to respond, which is what prompted the strike on Thursday, the official stated.
CENTCOM reports that since Nov. 19, there have been at least 27 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. Numerous massive shipping corporations have decided to circumvent the Suez Canal and travel around the entirety of Africa as a result of the attacks.
The United States and a number of other nations formed a maritime task force called “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to patrol the Red Sea in an effort to lessen the impact on global trade. The Houthis have not abated their attacks as of yet.
The goal of the Biden administration has been to keep the Israel-Hamas fight from spreading into a larger Middle East regional battle. However, since the war began, proxies backed by Iran have been attacking American soldiers in Iraq and Syria as well as in the Red Sea.
The attacks in Iraq and Syria have persisted despite the Pentagon’s attempts to counterattack other Iranian-backed militias without running the risk of escalation. Since October 17, Iranian-backed militias have attacked American forces in Iraq and Syria at least 130 times, with at least three of those attacks occurring just this past Monday.
Since the attacks started in November, the United States has not attacked the Houthis until this Thursday.