US-UK strike Yemen after Houthi rebels defend Palestine by stopping Israeli ships

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American and British forces have launched fresh raids on Yemen’s capital, Houthi rebel forces confirmed on Saturday, a day after the allies carried out dozens of strikes on the country.

The latest raids targeted Al-Dailami airbase in Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since 2014, a statement released on their official media stated. “The American-British enemy is targeting the capital, Sanaa, with a number of raids,” Al-Masirah TV posted on X, formerly Twitter, citing its correspondent in Sanaa.”The American-British aggression targeted the Al-Dailami base in the capital, Sanaa,” it added.

Raids on Yemen follow weeks of Houthi attacks on Israel’s ships in the commercial Red Sea in protest against the war on Gaza.

The strike on a Houthi radar site comes a day after scores of attacks across the country heightened fears that Israel’s aggression on Gaza could engulf the whole Arab region.

The Houthis warned that US and British interests were “legitimate targets” after the initial strikes. Britain, the United States and eight allies said strikes carried out on Friday had aimed to “de-escalate tensions”, but the Houthis vowed to continue their attacks. Hussein al-Ezzi, the rebels’ deputy foreign minister, said the United States and Britain would “have to prepare to pay a heavy price”.

The rebels have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of the “axis of resistance” against Israel and its allies.

Violence involving these groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria has surged since the war in Gaza began in early October.

What has the UN said?

UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all sides “not to escalate” in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Houthis immediately stop their attacks.

At the meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that no ship was safe from the threat posed by Houthis to shipping in the Red Sea.

Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced the “blatant armed aggression” against the entire population of the country.

Red Sea attacks and the politics of the Middle East

The Houthis have intensified attacks on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea- through which 12 percent of global maritime trade normally passes- since October 7.

The United States and Britain launched strikes on Friday that targeted nearly 30 locations using more than 150 ammunitions, US General Douglas Sims said, updating earlier figures, and President Joe Biden said he did not believe there were civilian casualties.

Biden called the strikes a successful “defensive action” after the “unprecedented” Red Sea attacks and said he would act again if the Houthis continued their “outrageous behaviour”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Houthis’ breach of international law warranted the “strong signal”, with his government publishing its legal position justifying the strikes as lawful and “proportionate”.

Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said the Western strikes would fuel “insecurity and instability in the region” while “diverting” attention from Gaza.

The Houthis fired “at least one” anti-ship ballistic missile in retaliation on Friday that caused no damage, according to Sims.

The United States said it did not seek conflict with Iran, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby telling MSNBC there was “no reason” for an escalation.

Middle Eastern leaders voiced concern at the violence, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and saying: “It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath.”

Saudi Arabia said it “is following with great concern the military operations” and called for “self-restraint and avoiding escalation”. The kingdom is trying to extricate itself from a nine-year war with the Huthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.

Palestinian freedom fighting group Hamas said it would hold Britain and the United States “responsible for the repercussions on regional security”.

‘Death to America’

Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Friday to protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags and holding portraits of Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi, an AFP journalist reported.

“Death to America, death to Israel,” they chanted.

In Tehran, hundreds rallied against the United States, Britain, and Israel, burning the three countries’ flags outside the UK embassy while voicing support for Gazans and Yemenis, an AFP correspondent reported.

In Gaza, Palestinians lauded Houthi support and condemned Britain and the United States. “No one is standing with us but Yemen,” said Fouad al-Ghalaini, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left homeless by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza City

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