TEHRAN – Air strikes in the US and UK in Yemen have led to the deaths of more than 30 civilians and injured at least 100 people.
The majority of the victims, including those killed and injured, were women and children as a result of air and naval attacks.
The US and British forces have carried out several airstrikes targeting the capital Sanaa, Albaida in central Yemen, and Damar, located south of the capital.
Previous reports and assessments have shown that the attacks are targeting residential areas and private infrastructure.
Reports show that the airstrikes crashed into a local power plant, cutting off power in Dahyan city, Sada state.
Yemen’s highest political council denounced US airstrikes, calling them an act of attack and described them as support for Israeli occupation.
In a statement, the council said, “Targeting civilians proves the failure of America’s conflict and does not stop us from our stance in supporting Gaza.”
The council emphasized that “people attacking Yemen will be punished in professional and painful ways.”
The attack on Yemen comes days after Yemeni forces announced they would resume bans on Israeli ships passing through designated operational areas of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden.
The Yemeni military made the announcement last Tuesday. The deadline by Ansalala leader Sayadur Malik Al Khoti has expired.
The deadline was intended to pressure mediators to resume Israeli occupation and to reopen border crossings and enable humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
No Ansala’s operations have been reported since then, but experts believe Israel and Israeli-affiliated vessels are avoiding water designated by the Yemeni military.
Mohammad Abdel Salam, official government spokesman for Sanaa, issued the following statement:
“The US airstrikes on Yemen are a blatant attack on an independent state and encouragement for Israeli enemy groups to continue the unjust siege of Gaza.
The US President’s claims about the threat to international voyages in the Bab al-Mandab Strait are false and misleading international public opinion.
The maritime blockade announced by Yemen in favour of Gaza is limited to Israeli shipping only, in accordance with a ceasefire agreement between Palestinian resistance and enemy entities, until humanitarian aid is permitted to enter Gaza. This Yemeni lockdown was implemented after a four-day bounty period for mediators.
We confirm that international voyages in the Red Sea are safe from Yemen’s side, and that American airstrikes mark a return to militarization of the Red Sea.
A senior Yemeni official warned that attacks on Yemen “will not be answered.” Yemen said “it could escalate support for Gaza’s resistance in response to the US attack.”
The official stressed that “Israel ships will not pass through designated maritime regions,” but Ansala has pledged that Americans will take President Donald Trump into office.
Mohammed al-Buhati, a member of Ansalala’s political office, reflects these sentiments, saying, “The US attack on Yemen is unfair as Yemeni forces target Zionist entities.”
In a TV interview, Al-Bukhaiti said: For those who accuse us of recklessness, we say that the people alongside the US and Israel are real risk takers. ”
Al-Bukhaiti stressed that retaliation for the US attack is inevitable, and pointed out that there is no difference between the Trump and Biden administrations in Yemen.
He confirmed that Yemen would not abandon its support for its stance towards Palestine or the United States, regardless of cost.
“What sets this battle apart from the previous one is that it is now clear and a battle between absolute rights and absolute mistakes.”
For about 15 months, the US, Israel and the UK have regularly targeted positions they claimed to belong to Yemen’s Ansala.
Despite these attacks, Sanaa’s government continues its military operations against Israeli occupation in solidarity with Gaza, showing no signs of retreat.
By Wesam Bahrani