U.S., British forces strike Houthi targets in Yemen; Houthi
U.S. and British military forces, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, struck “a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” President Biden said late Thursday. The Houthi-run Masirah news channel said airstrikes had targeted a military air base adjacent to the international airport in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, where residents reported the sound of explosions around 2:30 a.m.
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Manned aircraft from both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force were used in the attacks on Houthi targets, with strikes launched by aircraft, surface vessels, and submarines, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The official said the operation required suppressing Houthi air defenses and then targeting radar and facilities used to store and launch unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement that the Royal Air Force took part in the strikes. A British official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation, said Britain participated in the strikes with Typhoon fighters launched from Royal Air Force Akrotiri, an air base on Cyprus.
Masirah, the Houthi-run news channel, reported that strikes hit airports and other areas in Hodeida and Taiz, cities near Yemen’s Red Sea coast, as well as a military base in the northern province of Saada. It quoted a Houthi official, Hussein El-Ezzi, the deputy foreign minister, calling the strikes a “blatant aggression.” He added that the United States and Britain “will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences.”
South Africa presented its arguments Thursday to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, as it opened its case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegation, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as “meritless.” Judges are expected to rule on South Africa’s provisional request within weeks, but a verdict on the core question of genocide could take years.
Blinken arrived in Egypt to conclude his tour of the Middle East. His visits with Arab and Turkish leaders have focused on plans for postwar reconstruction and governance in Gaza, which have received little public response from Israeli officials.
At least 23,469 people have been killed in Gaza and 59,604 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
07:27 PM: U.S.-led coalition strikes Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen
U.S. and coalition forces struck Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen on Thursday, a dramatic escalation after the group ignored warnings from the Biden administration and other governments to stop attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The operation follows weeks of hostility as the Houthis, protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, have disrupted global trade by making the vital waterway a dangerous place for ships to transit. The group, which functions as the de-facto government in parts of Yemen, has carried out numerous attacks since November, officials have said, leading to repeated distress calls and routine altercations with U.S. and partner nations’ warships dispatched to the region in response.
Senior U.S. officials have blamed Iran for having “aided and abetted” the crisis, saying the Houthis would be incapable of threatening the shipping route if not for Tehran’s technological and intelligence support.