What exactly happened last night?
US and British forces have launched airstrikes on several targets of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, including around the airports of the capital Sanaa and in the port of Hodeida, which is considered a Houthi bastion on the Red Sea. Other places in Yemen such as the cities of Sa’dah and Dhamar have also been attacked, according to Houthi officials, who also reported bombings at Taiz international airport and an airport in Abs.
According to the US Air Force, a total of more than sixty targets were hit at sixteen locations. More than a hundred precision-guided missiles were used in the attacks on command and control nodes, ammunition depots, launch systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems, it said.
© via REUTERS
The British Air Force said it carried out guided bomb attacks with four Typhoon fighter jets on Abs – from which missiles and drones had been launched over the Red Sea – and on a drone launch site in Bani.
In addition to aircraft, the US also deployed naval ships for the “huge retaliatory attack” – US officials said. Drones and submarines are also said to have been used.
Why did the US and UK bomb Houthi targets?
This first joint British-American attack against the Houthis is a response to the attacks that the rebel group has been carrying out on shipping traffic in the Red Sea since November 19. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the Houthis have already attacked 27 ships, putting pressure on trade flows. The Red Sea leads to the Suez Canal and is therefore a crucial route for world trade. In response to the attacks, several companies and shipping companies have already decided to take a safer but much longer route around the African continent.
The Houthis, who enjoy support from the regime in Iran, say they are carrying out their attacks on ships as a sign of support for Hamas and the Palestinians.
How do US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak react?
President Biden has confirmed that the US and UK have “successfully carried out strikes on a number of targets in Yemen that the Houthi rebels are using to threaten freedom of navigation.” “It is in response to the Houthis’ unprecedented attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea,” the White House said in a statement.
Joe Biden. — © AP
The “targeted” counterstrikes “send a clear message that the U.S. and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to endanger freedom of navigation on one of the world‘s most important commercial routes,” Biden said in his statement.
Biden said he “will not hesitate” to take additional measures to protect the US and international trade.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the attacks were “limited, necessary and proportionate”. “Despite repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued attacks in the Red Sea, including again this week against British and American warships. This cannot continue like this,” the Briton said in a press release.
Rishi Sunak. — © Simon Walker / Avalon
How are the Houthi rebels responding to the attack?
The Houthis’ deputy foreign minister, Hussein al-Izzi, told Yemeni TV channel Al-Masirah that the US and UK will “pay a heavy price” for this “blatant aggression”.
A senior member of the rebel group, Abdul Salam Jahaf, claimed shortly afterwards that Houthi forces had launched retaliatory attacks against US and British warships in the Red Sea. That claim has not yet been confirmed.
The response to the bombings by the US and UK and four allies, including the Netherlands, will be the Houthis’ largest operation yet, leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi promised. He calls on Yemenis to take to the streets on Friday and demonstrate against “American aggression”.
Houthi rebels in Sanaa. — © EPA-EFE
How is the rest of the world reacting to the attack?
Besides the US and the United Kingdom, other countries are also involved. The Netherlands, Bahrain, Canada and Australia have provided “support,” Biden said. The Netherlands provided “non-operational military support,” ministers Hanke Bruins Slot (Foreign Affairs) and Kajsa Ollongren (Defense) confirmed in a letter to the House of Representatives on Friday morning. According to the letter, the support consists of “the deployment of one staff officer”.
The White House also released a joint statement from the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Korea. It said attacks in the Red Sea had continued despite previous strong warnings and a UN Security Council resolution. The retaliatory attacks would be in accordance with the right to self-defense, as well as the UN Charter.
“Our goal remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let our message be clear: we will not hesitate to defend lives and ensure the free flow of trade in one of the world‘s most critical waterways protect against ongoing threats,” it said.
Saudi Arabia said it was “following with great concern the military operations in the Red Sea and the airstrikes on a number of targets” in Yemen. This was stated by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, which called for “restraint and avoidance of escalation”.
Russia has convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The meeting will take place on Friday morning, state news agency TASS reported. The Security Council had approved a resolution on Wednesday demanding that the Houthis halt their attacks in the Red Sea. Four countries, including Russia and China, had abstained from the vote.
A missile is fired from a warship in this photo released by US Central Command. — © via REUTERS
How do the American and British people and politicians react to the bombings?
In the United Kingdom, there was immediate criticism of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who apparently gave the green light to the attacks without consulting parliament. “If the UK is considering military action, it is vital that there is a vote in Parliament,” Layla Moran of the Liberal Democratic party wrote on X.
In the US, reactions were mixed. According to many Republicans, including leader Mitch McConnell, these counterattacks had been delayed for too long, while several Democratic lawmakers expressed their concern that the US is launching a new war without congressional approval. Senator Jack Reed, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised “Biden’s strong actions against the Houthi militants” as “necessary and proportionate.”
Activists at the White House in Washington and in Times Square in New York on Thursday evening chanted slogans such as “hands off the Middle East” and “let Yemen live”.