The UK and U.S continue to be drawn into conflict in the Middle East amid Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s destructive ground campaign in Gaza, in which over 25,000 people have been killed.
Their continued strikes on Houthi targets proves this.
US and British forces have carried out a fresh round of strikes in Yemen, targeting a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities used by the group against Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said.
The strikes, which occurred on Monday, January 22, 2023, at 11:59pm local time signal an increased risk of escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Although the strikes are only the second time British forces have joined in, for U.S forces, they are the eighth set of attacks in recent weeks, retaliating against Houthi attacks on shipping in a crucial international commercial route.
A joint statement from both countries said that they had conducted strikes against eight Houthi targets in Yemen, with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.
“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,” the statement said.
The statement said the strikes were proportionate and necessary.
The Houthis say that their attacks on shipping aims to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
US military officials said the strikes were successful and had “good impacts” in all eight locations.
U.S Central Command said that the strikes were to “respond to increased Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities.”
The number of targets is considerably lower than the 60 which were struck in the first air raids on Yemen made by the two countries 10 days earlier.
The UK Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, said in a statement that dangerous Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have continued to threaten the lives of sailors and disrupt shipping at an intolerable cost to the global economy.
“Along with our U.S partners, we have conducted a further round of strikes in self-defence,” he announced.
“Aimed at degrading Houthi capabilities, this action will deal another blow to their limited stockpiles and ability to threaten global trade.
“Alongside our ongoing diplomatic efforts, we will continue to support regional stability across the Middle East, working hand in hand with our like-minded partners.”
Grant Shapps
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
However, the UK defence ministry said that a “very rigorous analysis” was applied in planning the strikes to minimize any risk of civilian casualties, and added that the bombing took place at night partly for that reason.
Houthis Respond To Strikes
Mohammad Ali Al Houthi who is with Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, posted on X about the strikes, saying “Trust well that every operation and every aggression against our country will not be without a response.”
Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a senior political official and spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, also posted on X in response to Monday’s U.S and UK airstrikes.
“The American-British aggression will only increase the Yemeni people’s determination to carry out their moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards the oppressed in Gaza” he said.
He noted, “The war today is between Yemen, which is struggling to stop the crimes of genocide, and the American-British coalition to support and protect its perpetrators.”
Posting an undated video that appeared to show children dying, he said, “Thus, every party or individual in this world is faced with two choices that have no thirds: either to preserve its humanity and stand with Yemen, or to lose it and stand with the American-British alliance.”
He added, “Who do you stand with as you watch these crimes?”
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