US Airstrikes Pound Yemen as Region Is on Brink of Major War

US missile strikes continue to pound Yemen as the Middle East is on edge awaiting Iran’s response to the Israeli assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran.

The Yemeni news agency Saba reported two U-British strikes in the Taiz province, which is on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the body of water that connected the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

So far, the US military hasn’t taken credit for airstrikes in Yemen on Tuesday, but US Central Command claimed that it downed one Houthi drone and two ballistic missiles over the Red Sea.

On Monday, CENTCOM said that it destroyed one “unmanned aerial system” in a strike on Houthi-controlled Yemen, which is where most Yemenis live, and claimed that it destroyed several Houthi drones and one ballistic missile over the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM also said that it conducted strikes in Yemen on August 3

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have not backed down in the face of hundreds of US and British missile strikes, a bombing campaign that started in January. Instead, the Houthis have only escalated attacks on Israel-linked and other shipping in protest of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

The Houthis recently launched a drone that hit Tel Aviv, killing one Israeli, which Israel responded to with major strikes on the port of Hodeidah. It’s possible that the Houthis could take part in Iran’s reprisal attack on Israel, along with Hezbollah and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. Houthi involvement in the reprisal attack could involve attacking US warships in the region since they are standing by to defend Israel.

The US has acknowledged that the Houthis would likely stop their attacks if there were a ceasefire in Gaza. But the Biden administration has refused to put real pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and continues to provide military aid and political support, emboldening Israeli escalations in the region.

The US-backed Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis from 2015-2022 involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became a more capable fighting force during that time.

The war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege. A ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are now blocking the implementation of a lasting peace deal.