US, UK launch airstrikes on Houthi rebels after Red Sea attacks
The US and UK launched airstrikes on more than 60 Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, according to Bloomberg.
The strikes overnight by American and British forces targeted 16 Houthi locations, including radar installations and storage and launch sites for drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, according to American officials and the US Air Force.
While it was too soon to determine the impact of the strikes, which began around 2 a.m. Yemen time, they were intended to cripple the Houthis’ ability to continue attacking commercial vessels. But they also risked widening a conflict that began when Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7.
The military action marks a significant escalation in that conflict, underscoring the risk that the three-month-old Israel-Hamas war could turn into a larger conflagration. Israeli forces responded to Hamas’s initial attack — which left 1,200 people dead — with a devastating air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip and have repeatedly fended off Hezbollah attacks on the country’s northern border with Lebanon.
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 against his group.
The latest strikes took place hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a trip through the Middle East that was aimed in part at getting support for more aggressive action toward the Houthis, insisting that “there will have to be consequences” if the attacks at sea persisted.
Global crude oil benchmark Brent moved higher by about 2% to match the move in West Texas Intermediate following the strikes in Yemen. Whether prices stay higher will depend on whether Thursday’s actions spark a more severe reaction.
Heavy explosions were reported in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida. The target sites were assessed as having no civilians nearby, one US official said, adding that early indications suggested the impact on the Houthis’ ability to launch future attacks was significant.
Including a ballistic missile launch into the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, the US says the Houthis have attempted 27 attacks on commercial shipping since Nov. 19.
The Houthi actions prompted many commercial shippers to direct their vessels around the southern tip of Africa rather than risk more attacks in the Red Sea. That’s increased shipping times and threatened to snarl supply chains. Biden said in his statement that more than 2,000 ships had been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea.
After the strikes occurred, Saudi Arabia called for restraint and avoiding escalation “in light of the events the region is witnessing,” according to a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
