The United States, along with the United Kingdom, hit dozens of Houthi targets on Saturday in a new round of strikes in Yemen.
The U.S. and the U.K. hit 36 Houthi targets across 13 different locations in Yemen on Saturday by using fighter jets and warships. The multiple rounds of strikes are a part of the U.S.'s response to the Houthis recent attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) said in a statement on Saturday that the strikes were conducted with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
"Today's strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis' deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars," the DOD said.
When reached for further comment by Newsweek on Saturday evening, the DOD said it has "no additional information to provide at this time."
The Biden administration carried out its first round of strikes against the Iran-backed group last month. The Houthis have declared their support for Hamas and have been attacking ships that they believe have ties to Israel in recent months.
The rising conflict in the Middle East began after Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history on October 7, 2023. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza, home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Israeli officials have said that about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 250 hostages were taken in Hamas' attack, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, officials from the health ministry in Gaza said.
The first round of strikes was also in concert with the U.K. and had the backing of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands. President Joe Biden said in a statement at the time, the Houthis had "endanger[ed] freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways," and that strikes were "a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel..."
On Saturday, Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "The US-British coalition's bombing of a number of Yemeni provinces will not change our position, and we affirm that our military operations against Israel will continue until the crimes of genocide in Gaza are stopped and the siege on its residents is lifted, no matter the sacrifices it costs us," adding that "We will meet escalation with escalation."
Israel, meanwhile, has denied allegations of genocide and has claimed it's acting in self-defense.
Meanwhile, last week, Iran-backed militants carried out a drone strike that killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens more. Following the attack, Biden said the U.S. "shall respond" and on Friday, the U.S. began a series of strikes against Iran-backed militants and Iranian military targets in Iraq and Syria. The strikes have hit over 85 targets as of Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
"The president needs to flip the script on the Iranian proxies that are destabilizing the Middle East, attacking international commerce, and targeting our troops who are in the region for core missions that advance our national security," Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for House Affairs during the Obama administration, told Newsweek via text message on Saturday. "That is what these strikes are aiming to achieve — a deterrence effect so that these proxies will pull back and reduce the violence in the region."
He added: "The U.S. has been on the receiving end of strikes despite President Biden's continual statements that the U.S. does not want further military action. But they have gone too far and are receiving the calibrated response they deserve. Now is the time to couple these American countermeasures with strong direct diplomacy towards Tehran, so that cooler heads there will prevail."
Update 2/3/24, 5:48 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and comment from the DOD.
Update 2/3/24, 6:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and comment from Rubin.
Update 2/3/24, 6:07 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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