The Houthi rebels in Yemen claim that fresh US strikes against them have resulted in five youngsters among the fifty-three dead count.
The rebel group claimed early on Monday targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah districts were hit early; US Central Command claimed their forces were still active.
In an attempt to halt Houthi attacks on commerce in the Red Sea, the US started what it termed a “decisive and powerful” series of air strikes against Houthi targets on Saturday.
Though the group has not verified this, Washington claims certain important Houthi figures are among the dead.
As long as the US kept attacking Yemen, Houthi commander Abdul Malik al-Houthi declared his fighters would aim their attacks on US ships in the Red Sea.
Changing an earlier death count, Houthi health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi tweeted on X that 98 people had been wounded and that “five children and two women” had been murdered.
One father of two, Ahmed, told the AFP news agency: “I have been living in Sanaa for ten years, hearing shelling all through the war. God, I have never before seen something like this.”
Michael Waltz, US National Security Advisor to ABC News, said Saturday’s missiles “targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out”.
Said he to Fox News: “We just hit them with overwhelming force and put Iran on notice that enough is enough.”
Until the Houthi attacks stop, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised a “unrelenting” missile campaign.
In a Fox Business broadcast, Hegseth remarked, “I want to be very clear, this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence.”
The Houthis claimed their forces would react to the strikes and that they would keep attacking Red Sea trade until Israel removed its embargo of Gaza.
Though it is not the internationally-recognised government of Yemen, the Iranian-backed rebel group that sees Israel as its enemy rules Sanaa and the north-west of the nation.
Often falsely claiming to be targeting ships only connected to Israel, the US, or the UK, the Houthis have stated they are operating in support of the Palestinians in the fight between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Targeting scores of merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with missiles, drones, and small boat attacks since November 2023, the Houthis have They have sank two ships, grabbed a third, and slaughtered four crew members.
EPA stands for: One looks at the wreckage in a cordoned-off area following US airstrikes focused on a nearby location, in Sana’a, Yemen, on March 16, 2025. EPHA
Damage within Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, following the strikes
Declaring Saturday’s strikes, Trump remarked “we will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective”.
Trump stated on social media, “funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies,” adding that their “piracy, violence, and terrorism” had cost “billions” and placed lives at risk.
Directing the Houthis, Trump said, “HELL WILL RAIN DOWNONYOU LIKE NOTHING You HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE” should they not stop.
The Houthis have been relentless in their response, meanwhile, stating that their support of Palestinians would not be compromised by the aggressiveness.
According to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US government “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy”.
On X on Sunday, he wrote “End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism.” “Stop killing people from Yemen.”
Claiming retribution for US strikes, the Houthis have blamed two attacks on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and other American warships in the Red Sea without providing proof.
However, a US official informed Reuters news agency that on Sunday US aeroplanes destroyed 11 Houthi drones—none of which got near to the Truman. The US has not yet addressed the second assertion of such a strike.
On Sunday UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged “utmost restraint and a cessation of all military activities” in Yemen.
