US strikes will not stop Red Sea shipping attacks, Houthis warn

Iran-backed rebels say American warplanes hit 17 sites in Saada and Amran overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday

Damage to Al Rasul Al Aazam Cancer and Oncology Hospital's unfinished wing in northern Saada province after it was bombed by the US. AFP

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Yemen's Houthi rebels have said they will not be defeated by continued US attacks.

The group's heartland of Saada and Amran were hit 17 times by the US overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday, the rebels said. Warplanes carried out “aggressive air raids … causing material damage to citizens' property”, they added. There were no further details given of deaths or injuries.

Mahdi Al Mashat, chairman of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council, told US President Donald Trump that the entire duration of his term in office would not be enough to stop their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. “Your decision to attack our country to dissuade us from supporting Gaza will not succeed, and will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege is lifted,” he said in a statement addressed to Mr Trump.

“Your entire presidential term will not be enough to dissuade us.”

The Houthis claimed solidarity with the Palestinian people by attacking international shipping routes after the start of the Israel-Gaza war. The rebels had paused their campaign when a ceasefire in Gaza took effect in January, however, they resumed attacks when the truce was broken by Israel.

“The reckless decisions of US President Donald Trump have no legitimacy at all and are a desperate attempt to protect the Zionist enemy and support its crimes, aggression and siege against the Palestinian people,” Mr Al Mashat said.

On March 15, the US announced another military offensive against the Houthis, promising to use overwhelming force until the group stopped firing on vessels in the shipping routes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Washington said Houthi leaders had been killed in the first day of strikes that the rebel-run health ministry said took the lives of 53 people. Since then, rebel-held areas in war-torn Yemen have been struck on almost a daily basis, but the Houthis have vowed their attacks on shipping would not stop.

“The international community must declare a firm and unified position towards American recklessness and to stop them from supporting the criminal Zionists, who represents a threat to international peace and security,” Mr Al Mashat said.

Mr Trump has threatened to “annihilate” the Houthis and warned Tehran against continuing to aid the group.

The US this month placed sanctions on seven senior members of the Houthi militia, along with a Yemeni businessman linked to the Iran-backed group, for allegedly procuring weapons from Russia and supplying Moscow with fighters for its war in Ukraine.

Houthi leaders say they will escalate attacks in response to the US campaign. “Now we see that Yemen is at war with the US and that means that we have a right to defend ourselves with all possible means, so escalation is likely,” Jamal Amer, the Houthi foreign minister, told Reuters from Sanaa on Monday.

It comes as Yemen marked a decade since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict.

“For 10 years, Yemenis have endured relentless conflict, economic collapse and limited access to life-saving health and nutrition services,” said Caroline Sekyewa, International Rescue Committee country director in Yemen. In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection – an increase of nearly seven per cent compared to 2024, according to the organisation.

The IRC has said Yemen's humanitarian response remains critically underfunded. Only five per cent of the $2.4 billion needed to help 10.5 million people has been provided, it said.

Aid agencies have had to scale back essential support such as food distribution and have limited their access to clean water and other services in 2024.

“Humanitarian aid has been their lifeline – preventing disease outbreaks, delivering health care, responding to natural disasters and helping families to survive. For donor governments to consider reducing or removing that support is not just short-sighted, it puts millions of lives at risk,” Ms Sekyewa said.

“After a decade of crisis, political solutions and economic recovery are now needed more than ever to secure long-term stability. Yet the fact is that today, aid is what stands between life and death for millions.”