The latest American airstrikes on Houthi-controlled residential areas in response to the threat from the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who warned that they would attack American warships in the Red Sea if Israel's complete blockade of Gaza continues, have killed 53 people, including women and children. This marks the beginning of large-scale airstrikes against Yemen, according to a warning from the U.S. Central Command, raising fears of a new war front opening in the Middle East. The attacks were launched from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, which has conducted 40 strikes. The targeted areas included the capital Sana’a, Saada, Ibb, Al-Bayda, and Taiz, with bombs dropped on two residential buildings in Ibb, according to the Houthis. In retaliation, according to the claims of the Houthis, they have launched 18 ballistic and cruise missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman on Sunday. U.S. officials revealed that drones from Yemen had been shot down by American forces. The Houthis have warned that if America continues its attacks, their ships in the Red Sea will not remain safe.
According to the Pentagon, since 2023, the Houthis have attacked American warships 174 times and cargo ships 145 times. However, since the ceasefire in Gaza last January, the Houthis did not conduct any attacks. During Joe Biden’s administration, America and Britain carried out numerous attacks, claiming that the Houthis were planning to attack U.S. ships. Israel also conducted airstrikes destroying basic facilities such as Sana'a International Airport, ports, and power stations.
12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea. Like the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea is crucial for transport of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments. If this route is blocked, the only alternative is the Good Hope Cape on Africa's southern tip. This would increase the distance and cost of energy shipments from the Gulf to Europe and North America. The Houthis are bargaining on this advantage and exploiting this strategically important area, which falls within Yemen's borders. The U.S. and allied powers must ensure that this route remains open. As a result, the Red Sea is becoming a strategic focal point of all times. The northwestern region of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a, is entirely under the control of the Houthi rebels. Being Shia, they have the support of Iran too. Trump has warned Tehran to end military support for the Houthi group Ansar Allah. However, Iran has denied the narrative of Ansa Allah being Tehran’s proxy, stating that they have no role in shaping their policies, according to Major General Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran maintains that the Houthis have their own objectives and interests, and they cannot be viewed as Iran’s proxy, a view shared by impartial observers in the region. Meanwhile, in the context of American attacks, Iran has expressed solidarity with Ansar Allah. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on X that Yemen will hold out, and there is only the path of resistance in front of them, and it is effective, emphasizing that the steadfastness of Muslim nations is what is leaving America and its allies stunned.
In his first term itself, Trump had tried to launch an attack on and defeat Yemen. In the attack that America carried out in collaboration with the Gulf countries facing the Houthi threat, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution calling for a withdrawal from the attacks, but Trump vetoed it. The war in Yemen, the poorest Arab country, which has been ongoing since 2014, has claimed the lives of over four lakh people. Among these, more than one and a half lakh were due to military attacks, and the remaining deaths were caused by war, blockade, famine, and diseases. 70% of those killed were children. According to the 2021 report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), one Yemeni child under the age of five dies every nine minutes. The UNDP predicted that if the war does not stop, 13 lakh lives will be lost by 2031. America’s intervention is to aggravate this sea of misery. The attack plan that started in 2014 to eliminate Houthi terrorism not only failed but also led to more areas coming under the control of Ansar Allah. The evidence that external occupation forces cannot drive out organizations supported by the local population is seen in Afghanistan and Yemen. The experience shows that invasion powers have always failed in achieving their mission, and all they could do was kill more civilians and turn cities into rubble. Trump’s new war frenzy will only push the already weak Yemen into further suffering, and neither America nor its allied powers will gain anything.
