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By Jon Jackson and Rachel Dobkin
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The United States and British militaries on Friday launched air attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen, U.S. officials told The Associated Press (AP).
The AP reported that the strikes involved more than a dozen targets and were carried out on bases, weapons systems and equipment belonging to Iranian-backed Houthis.
The officials told the news agency that military aircraft and ships hit rebel strongholds in approximately five locations, but the exact number of sites involved in the strikes was not immediately available.
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Houthi media said seven strikes hit an airport in the major port city of Hodeida and the Katheib area, which holds a Houthi-controlled military base. Four more strikes reportedly targeted the Seiyana area in Yemen's capital of Sanaa and two additional strikes reportedly hit the Dhamar province. Houthi media also reported three strikes in the Bayda province, which is southeast of Sanaa.
Houthis have hit over 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began last year. The rebel group has fired more strikes, but they were either intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
Last week, Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack in which over a half dozen ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and two drones were fired at three American warships traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. All strikes, however, were blocked by the U.S. ships, according to several American officials. The rebels also claimed on Monday that they shot down an American drone flying over Yemen. The U.S. military acknowledged that they lost a drone.
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Houthis, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are all part of Iran's proxy network known as the Axis of Resistance and share tense relations with Israel and the United States.
The Houthis say that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to stop the war in Gaza, but many of the ships attacked have little to no connection to the war, including some that were headed to Iran. The recent reported strikes by the U.S. and British militaries on Houthi targets come just days after the rebels threatened "escalating military operations" targeting Israel.
Rising Tensions in the Middle East
This upcoming Monday will mark the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages. About 100 hostages remain in captivity, around 65 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel subsequently launched an operation in Gaza which has killed over 41,000 Palestinians so far, according to the local health ministry.
Fighting has expanded past Gaza as Israel fights against Iran and its proxies. While attacks have been launched from all sides in the past year, fighting has gotten more intense after the electronic device attacks on Hezbollah last month killed dozens and injured thousands more. Israel is widely thought to have launched the attack, but it has not taken responsibility for it.
On Tuesday, Iran hit Israel with nearly 200 missiles. Almost all of the strikes were intercepted, but the explosions that were heard from Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley sent people across Israel into bomb shelters. One Palestinian in the Israeli-controlled West Bank was reportedly killed and two Israelis were injured by falling shrapnel and debris that also caused damage to the area, according to The Times of Israel.
Iran's barrage followed Israel's assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at a security cabinet meeting following the attack that Iran had made a "big mistake tonight" and promised that "it will pay for it."
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Israel began what it calls limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. Almost 1.2 million people in Lebanon have been displaced over the recent fighting, Lebanese officials said Thursday.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
Update 10/4/24 1:57 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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