(Dubai) Houthi rebels announced Thursday that American and British forces had launched a fourth round of strikes in Yemen, while ensuring that they would continue their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
“The American-British aggression targeted the governorates of Hodeidah, Taiz, Dhamar, Al-Bayda and Saada,” said the rebel channel al-Masirah.
“We will continue to target ships heading to ports in occupied Palestine, regardless of US-British aggression to try to stop us,” a Houthi official told the same media outlet.
Off the coast of Yemen, in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden, these rebels, at war for almost a decade against the Yemeni government, target merchant ships they consider linked to Israel.
Actions that they say they are carrying out in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza, a territory shelled and besieged by the Israeli army since the unprecedented attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7.
The increase in Houthi attacks has provoked American and British strikes in recent days, notably targeting nearly 30 sites in Yemen last week.
On Wednesday, Washington once again designated the Houthis as a “terrorist” entity in order to “hold the group accountable for its terrorist activities,” according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In 2021, to facilitate humanitarian aid, the United States removed the Houthis from its list of “terrorist organizations”.
This Iranian-backed movement responded Wednesday that it would continue its attacks, carrying out a few hours later by firing “missiles” against an American ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree .
The American military command in the Middle East (Centcom) indicated that the boat had been targeted by a drone, without causing casualties but causing slight damage.