An American fighter launches previous raids on Houthi sites in Yemen (French)

American media reported that the United States bombed targets belonging to the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen, while the group confirmed that the city of Hodeidah, west of the country, was subjected to American-British bombing.

The American CBS network said that today, Thursday, the United States carried out raids targeting 10 drones that were prepared for launch in western Yemen.

“A senior defense official in Bahrain told us that 10 minutes ago, F-18 Super Hornets bombed 10 drones in western Yemen that were prepared for launch,” Nora O’Donnell, managing editor of CBS Evening News, wrote on the X platform.

In turn, Fox News quoted American officials that the American army destroyed several projectiles that the Houthis were preparing to launch at commercial ships.

The US Central Command said that its forces shot down a ballistic missile and 3 drones in the Gulf of Aden, launched from Houthi areas in Yemen, and explained that the operation took place without causing injuries or damage.

The Central Command confirmed earlier that its forces destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared for launch, adding that the missile was in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and represented an imminent threat to its aircraft.

CNN quoted American officials as saying that a cruise missile launched by the Houthis on Tuesday evening approached an American destroyer before it was shot down, noting that the destroyer used the close-in weapons system for the first time since it began intercepting Houthi missiles.

For its part, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah Channel said that US-British raids targeted the Al-Jabanah area in the city of Hodeidah, west of the country, in the early hours of Thursday.

The group announced earlier that American and British forces launched a number of raids on Saada Governorate, northwest of Yemen, and stressed that "this aggression will not pass without response and punishment, and the aggressor countries must bear the consequences of their aggression."

For his part, the military spokesman for the Houthi group, Yahya Saree, said that the Houthis will confront the American-British escalation with escalation and will not hesitate to respond with broad and qualitative military operations, indicating that they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression against Gaza stops.

European mission

On the other hand, European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell said that a new European Union naval mission will be established to participate in guarding commercial ships in the Red Sea and confront Houthi attacks.

He added that some European Union member states are ready to participate and no one is currently obstructing that, expressing his hope that the mission will be prepared on February 17.

He said that the purpose of the mission is to protect ships and intercept any form of attack on energy ships, but without participating in any kind of measures against the Houthis, but rather to dissipate any difficulties for traffic there.

The Houthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea last November, and confirmed their targeting of ships linked to Israel in support of the Palestinians who face continued aggression against Gaza.

To try to deter them, on January 12 and 22, American and British forces launched a series of strikes on their military sites in Yemen. The United States also formed a multinational maritime task force last month to help protect shipping in the Red Sea, through which up to 12% of global trade passes.

In addition to military action, Washington sought to exert diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, and reclassified them as a “terrorist organization” last month, after previously dropping this classification following President Joe Biden taking office.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies