The United States and Britain launched more more than 60 airstrikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen early on Friday in a bid to stop the Iran-backed group’s shipping attacks in the Red Sea.
Both countries said the strikes had achieved their objectives and no further action was planned, but US President Joe Biden said he would not hesitate to take further action if needed.
The Houthis appeared undeterred, vowing to continue targeting commercial vessels and saying they would expand their response to the attacks “very soon” without giving further details.
Oil prices rose by nearly 3% in response to the news, with benchmark Brent crude close to $80 a barrel.
The military actions underscore the deepening fallout across the region from the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis started attacking ships in mid-November, ostensibly in support of Hamas, and have said they won’t back down until Israel stops fighting in Gaza.
The US and its allies have worked to prevent any escalation. But the Houthis have ignored all their warnings over recent weeks to end the assaults, which have roiled global supply chains and pushed up freight costs.
The strikes came hours after Biden’s top diplomat, Antony Blinken, ended another whirlwind tour of the region to ease tensions.
They started around 2.30am Yemen time, with residents in the capital Sanaa and the Red Sea port city of Hodeida reporting huge explosions.
American and British forces targeted 16 locations including airports, radar installations and storage and launch sites for drones and missiles, according to the US military and the Houthis.
The US attacks came from jets on the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier, as well as Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine and other ships. The UK sent jets from a base in Cyprus.
The Houthis said there were 68 strikes in total and that an unspecified number of people were killed. It was unclear if any were civilians.
The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided support as part of the mission, though they did not fire missiles. (Story continues below)
A man holds a dagger, known as a jambiya, as Houthi supporters rally to commemorate 10 fighters killed by the US Navy in the Red Sea, in Sanaa, Yemen on Jan 5. (Photo: Reuters)
'Limited, necessary and proportionate'
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the hits on Yemen as “limited, necessary and proportionate” after weeks of “dangerous and destabilising attacks” against shipping in the Red Sea.
London does not immediately plan any further missions, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said.
“Our action and the action of the Americans last night was in self-defence in order to defend against further attacks on our warships as they go about their legal and reasonable business,” Heappey told Times Radio.
“Of course we have an eye on the need to make sure it doesn’t cause a regional escalation.”
Asked about possible further missions in a separate interview with the BBC, he said: “There are none immediately planned, and that’s an important point. Last night was a limited, proportionate, necessary response.”
The remarks echoed a statement by US President Joe Biden, who said the strikes were “targeted” and that he would not hesitate to take further action if needed.
Russia criticised the strikes, which it said escalated tensions across the Middle East and disregarded international law.
Heappey said the warning to the Houthis remained in place and that the government would see over the next few days whether the attacks in the Red Sea stop.
Both countries said the aim was to cripple the Houthis’ ability to continue attacking commercial vessels. In the past two months, they have hijacked a car carrier, tried to capture others and attacked dozens with missiles and drones.
Many companies have rerouted their ships away from the Red Sea — which links to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal — forcing their vessels on much longer routes around southern Africa.
Saudi Arabia said it was following the latest events with “great concern”, highlighting how some of the US’s regional allies are uneasy about the strikes.
The kingdom borders Yemen and has been trying to forge a peace deal with the Houthis after failing to dislodge them from power for most of the past decade. The Houthis have attacked Saudi territory in the past, including in 2019 when they claimed a drone hit that briefly knocked out half the kingdom’s oil production.
Iran, which provides funding and training to the Houthis, said it “strongly condemns” the airstrikes.
In a televised speech earlier Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi vowed a “big” response to the US and its allies if they proceeded with military action.
“We’ll confront the American aggression,” he said. “Any American attack won’t go unpunished.”
