A US official has told ABC News that the US has launched about 750 airstrikes on Yemen since March 15, a relentless bombing campaign that has failed to deter the Houthis and has taken a heavy toll on civilians.
US airstrikes hit multiple provinces in Yemen on Thursday, with at least three people wounded by US attacks in the morning that hit the capital, Sanaa, and the northern Saada province. US airstrikes on Thursday night were reported in the provinces of Marib, Sanaa, and Amran.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are known for their resilience, having survived a US-backed Saudi/UAE war from 2015 to 2022, which involved heavy airstrikes, a ground campaign, and a blockade. The Yemeni group was also not deterred by a US-UK bombing campaign conducted under President Biden from January 2024 to January 2025.
The only thing that was able to stop Houthi attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping was the Gaza ceasefire that went into effect on January 19. After Israel violated the deal by imposing a blockade on humanitarian aid and all other goods entering Gaza, the Houthis announced they would re-impose their blockade on Israeli shipping. It was in response to that announcement that the US began bombing Yemen again.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that the new US bombing campaign has failed to impact Yemeni military capabilities and that a blockade was in effect for Israeli and US shipping in the Red Sea.
“The ships of the Israeli enemy, along with the Americans, have become completely absent in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, and there is no navigational activity of the Israelis and Americans at all, but there is a complete halt,” al-Houthi said, according to Yemen’s SABA news agency.
Al-Houthi also pointed to the fact that Yemeni air defenses have taken out multiple US MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are worth $30 million each, downing seven in the month of April alone. The Houthis have also continued to launch missile and drone attacks on Israel and on US warships in the region.
The US has been bombing Yemen using two aircraft carriers in the region and B-2 bombers stationed at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The Pentagon has shared virtually no details about its war, which has not been authorized by Congress, but it’s likely the bombing campaign has already cost billions in just over one month.
A senior member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau has said the Houthis would stop attacks on US warships if the US stopped bombing Yemen, but there’s no sign the US is considering the offer since the campaign is really about ensuring Israel can continue its genocidal war on Gaza.
