US strikes in Yemen kill 31 as Trump vows to end Houthi attacks

The first U.S. strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels since President Donald Trump took office in January killed at least 31 people, the rebels said Sunday, as Washington warned Iran to stop backing the group.

The Houthis, who have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, claimed that children were among those killed in the intense barrage of strikes. An AFP photographer in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, reported hearing three explosions and seeing plumes of smoke rising.

Attacks on Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, Al Bayda, and Radaa, resulted in 31 deaths and 101 injuries, “most of whom were children and women,” Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi said in a statement.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which posted images of fighter jets and a bomb demolishing a building compound, said “precision strikes” were launched to “defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.” There was no immediate comment from British authorities.

Trump, in a post on social media, vowed to “use overwhelming lethal force” and ordered Iran to “immediately” cut its support. “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” he wrote.

“Do NOT threaten the American people, their President… or worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!” Trump added.

The Houthis warned that the strikes “will not pass without response,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack and insisted that Washington had “no authority” to dictate its foreign policy. The Houthis’ Ansarollah website denounced what it called “U.S.-British aggression” and Washington’s “criminal brutality.”

“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the rebels’ political bureau stated on their Al-Masirah TV station.

The Houthis, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance”—a coalition of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States. They have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden during the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Houthis had “attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023.” Their campaign has crippled the vital trade route, which normally carries about 12% of global shipping traffic, forcing many companies to take costly detours around southern Africa.

The Palestinian group Hamas, grateful for Houthi support, condemned the U.S. strikes, calling them “a stark violation of international law and an assault on Yemen’s sovereignty and stability.”

The United States has launched several rounds of strikes on Houthi targets, some with British support. After pausing attacks when a ceasefire in Gaza took effect in January, the Houthis announced on Tuesday that they would resume operations until Israel lifts its blockade of humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Trump’s statement did not reference the dispute over Israel but focused on previous Houthi attacks on merchant shipping. Earlier this month, the United States reclassified the Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization,” banning any U.S. interaction with it.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Moscow, a close ally of Tehran, maintains ties with the Houthis. “Continued Houthi attacks on U.S. military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated,” Rubio told Lavrov on Saturday, according to the State Department.

The Houthis captured Sanaa in 2014 and were poised to overrun most of the country before a Saudi-led coalition intervened. The war has devastated the already impoverished nation. Fighting has largely been on hold since a 2022 ceasefire, but the peace process has stalled amid continued Houthi attacks on Israel and Israel-linked shipping.