A man stands near destroyed solar panels at the site of a building that was reportedly hit by a U.S. airstrike in the province of Saada, northern Yemen, on April 6, 2025. (Credit: AFP.)
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen reported three deaths in attacks attributed to the U.S., carried out overnight from Wednesday to Thursday on the capital Sanaa. 'Three citizens were killed in the American aggression on the Sabine district of the capital,' stated the rebel news agency Saba, quoting the Houthi administration Ministry of Health.
The agency had earlier reported a series of strikes targeting Sanaa, controlled by the Houthis since 2014, and its environs. The island of Kamaran in the Red Sea was also targeted, according to the same source.
Strikes carried out from Tuesday night to Wednesday in the coastal province of Hodeidah, in the west of the country, resulted in 13 deaths and 15 injuries, according to a new statement from the Houthi health ministry released Thursday. Six women and four children perished in this 'massacre,' reported the rebel television channel al-Masirah.
These pro-Iranian insurgents say they are targeting Israel and vessels linked to it in solidarity with the Palestinians, in the context of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. They also claim to target U.S. warships in the Red Sea in response to the strikes against them. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, stated on Wednesday that the rebel forces had shot down an American MQ-9 drone and launched a drone attack against 'an Israeli military target' in Jaffa, a district of Tel Aviv.
Areas controlled by the Houthis have been the target of near-daily attacks since Washington launched a bombing campaign on March 15 to force the rebels to stop threatening ships on crucial maritime routes for international trade. According to a U.S. intelligence official, Washington has struck more than 100 targets in Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen since the campaign's launch. 'The United States has struck more than 100 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen' since then, said a U.S. military official on condition of anonymity. 'We have destroyed control and command centers, arms manufacturing sites, and advanced weaponry storage sites,' the official specified.
The U.S. strikes have not stopped the Houthi attacks, who control large parts of the territory due to a war over ten years old against Yemeni government forces, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition. A close partner of the U.S., the wealthy Gulf monarchy has not succeeded in crushing the Houthi insurgency in Yemen despite an intense bombing campaign.
The rebels have increased attacks following the devastating war launched by Israel in Gaza, triggered following bloody Hamas attacks on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023. The Houthis claim they primarily target ships linked to Israel and its main military supporter, the United States. In mid-March, U.S. President Trump stated that Iran would now be 'held responsible' for 'every shot fired' by the Houthis.