US warplanes strike Houthi weapons sites in Yemen on Saturday night

The U.S. military launched several strikes against advanced weapons storage facilities in Yemen, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). 

The facilities contained weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating through international waters in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

The Houthi-run Al Masirah television network reported three U.S. and British strikes in the southern Al Sabeen district of the capital city, Sanaa. At press time, the British military had not confirmed its involvement in the strikes. 

According to Al Masirah, “Eyewitnesses said they heard intense flying, along with explosions in different parts of the capital Sanaa.” 

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have targeted ships traveling through the waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in support of the Hamas terror group since shortly after the start of Israel’s ground campaign in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Along with Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon receive significant funding and aid from Iran, as part of a strategy to exert influence in the region and bring about the destruction of the State of Israel, which the Islamic regime in Iran has called for repeatedly since coming to power in 1979. 

The Houthis have said they will not halt the attacks until Israel ends the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. 

There have been over 100 Houthi attacks against vessels traversing the waters off the coast of Yemen since the attacks began almost one year ago.

Houthi attacks have sunk two ships, while a merchant vessel – the Galaxy Leader and its crew – were captured in November of last year. The crew has still not been released by the rebel organization. Four soldiers have also been killed in Houthi attacks on vessels.

Despite several attempted strikes on Israel by the Houthi government, the Israeli military has only responded twice in retaliation for drone and ballistic missile attacks that successfully entered Israeli territory, including one that killed a man in Tel Aviv. 

In October, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a strike on underground Houthi sites, marking the first use of B-2 stealth bombers against the group. Those strikes represented “a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified,” Austin said in a statement afterward. 

U.S. Central Command Conducts Multiple Strikes on Underground Iran-Backed Houthi Weapons Facilities pic.twitter.com/6YjQRVFvSD

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 17, 2024

Austin said the attacks were meant to “further degrade” the Houthi’s attack capabilities.