By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

The Houthi Situation Today

The Iranian-backed rebels, who have targeted Israel and shipping in the Red Sea, said children were among those killed in the strikes ordered by President Trump.

The Houthi militia in Yemen has vowed to retaliate after President Trump ordered large-scale military strikes on targets controlled by the group that it says killed at least 53 people.

The group, which is backed by Iran, said that women and children were among those killed in the strikes on Saturday, the most significant U.S. military action in the Middle East since Mr. Trump took office in January.

For more than a year, the Houthis have launched attacks against Israel and threatened commercial shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with their ally Hamas, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that set off the war in Gaza. The Houthis suspended the campaign in January after a cease-fire was reached in Gaza but have vowed to step up attacks again after Israel instituted a blockade on aid to the enclave this month.

The U.S. airstrikes targeted Houthi-controlled areas across Yemen, including the capital, Sana, as well as Saada, al-Bayda, Hajjah and Dhamar Provinces, according to reports from Houthi-run media channels. The strikes killed at least 53 people and wounded 98, Anis al-Asbahi, a spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry, said on Sunday.

The Trump administration’s airstrikes on Yemen over the weekend marked the first time the United States has explicitly targeted Houthi leaders—alongside military and command-and-control centers. These strikes were warranted and then some. But the hard part may still be ahead.

The rap sheet against the Houthis is unchallenged. Following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, the Houthis declared that they would shut down shipping through the Red Sea to protest Israel’s operation in Gaza. Houthi terrorists targeted many Western maritime vessels that they claimed had Israeli ties transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (often exempting Russian and Chinese shippers), forcing shipping companies to bypass the Suez Canal and sail around the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant costs to each journey.

Also, the U.S. State Department has approved what would be the first sale of advanced precision kill weapon systems to Saudi Arabia for an estimated cost of $100 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The potential sale comes as the U.S. continues a wave of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen which began last Saturday, killing at least 31 people in the biggest such operation since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

Yemen's civil war erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa. Worried by the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015 to support the Saudi-backed government.

The war, which has abated since a ceasefire in 2022, has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated Yemen's economy, and left millions hungry.

The advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) approved for sale to Saudi Arabia is a laser-guided rocket that can hit both airborne and surface targets. The price of the weapon is about $22,000, making it a cost-effective choice for shooting down low-cost small armed drones like those used by the Houthis that have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale of 2000 APKWS and associated equipment and training on Thursday.

Despite approval by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded.

The principal contractor for the sale will be BAE Systems, the Pentagon said in a statement.

 

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