Houthis vow action on US strikes

WASHINGTON/ADEN — The Houthi militia threatened a "strong and effective response" after the United States carried out another strike in Yemen overnight through Sunday, further ratcheting up tensions in the Middle East.

It came as protests erupted across the globe, calling for a ceasefire to the Gaza conflict as the crisis entered its 100th day.

The strike has added to concerns over the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the region since the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel went into conflict, with Lebanon and Yemen also entering the fray.

The latest strike, which the US said hit a radar site, came a day after dozens of US and British strikes on Houthi facilities in Yemen.

"This new strike will have a firm, strong and effective response," Houthi spokesman Nasruldeen Amer told Al Jazeera, adding there had been no injuries nor "material damages".

Mohammed Abdulsalam, another Houthi spokesperson, said the strikes, including the one overnight that hit a military base in Sanaa, had no significant impact on the group's ability to prevent Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, Reuters reported.

The Pentagon said on Friday that the US-British strikes had "good effects".

Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, called for maximum restraint by "all involved "and warned of an increasingly precarious situation in the region.

The Houthis say their maritime campaign aims to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and to pressure Israel to end its attacks.

The group has fired drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea and at Israel itself.

The destroyer USS Carney used Tomahawk missiles in a strike early on Saturday "to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels", US Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

In Sanaa, government employee Mohammed Samei said the attacks were an act of "brutal aggression".

White House spokesperson John Kirby said the initial strikes had hit the Houthis' ability to store, launch and guide missiles or drones, which the group has used to threaten shipping. He said Washington had no interest in a war with Yemen.

The Houthis said five fighters were killed in the initial strikes.

Multiple countries, including Iran, Iraq and Oman, have condemned the strikes.

Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Sanaa on Friday, chanting slogans denouncing Israel and the US, footage broadcast by the Houthis' Al-Masirah TV showed.

On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators converged opposite the White House to call for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza.

People in the US capital held aloft signs questioning President Joe Biden's viability as a presidential candidate because of his staunch support for Israel.

Cease-fire sought

March organizers called on Biden to demand a permanent ceasefire and called for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners.

Vendors were also selling South African flags as protesters chanted slogans in support of the country whose accusations of genocide against Israel prompted the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, to take up the case.

Other cities, including Paris, Rome, and Milan, also saw protests calling for a cease-fire.

China expresses grave concern over the US and UK military action, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"It is regrettable to see that the blatant military actions taken by the relevant countries against Yemen have not only caused infrastructure destruction and civilian casualties, but have also resulted in heightened security risks in the Red Sea. This does not contribute to the protection of the safety and security of the commercial vessels and freedom of navigation," Zhang told the UN Security Council on Friday.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US and Britain "single-handedly triggered a spillover of the conflict (in Gaza) to the entire region".

Hassan Beheshtipour, a Teheran-based international affairs analyst, said the US-Britain airstrikes against Houthis would worsen the regional situation and expand the scope of the conflict in the region.

Beheshtipour told Xinhua that the US-British strikes would not stop the Houthis from continuing their operations and could provoke retaliation from their allies.

The US-Britain strikes also violated international law and the sovereignty of Yemen, which has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis for years, Beheshtipour said.

Agencies - Xinhua