Important Takeaways:
- A report at Al-Ain media in the UAE says that recent US strikes in Yemen have caused heavy losses among the Iranian-backed Houthis. The report says that “the US military has intensified its airstrikes on Houthi militia bases, facilities, and command centers in their main stronghold in Saada Governorate, northern Yemen.”
- “The US military launched a new series of airstrikes early Wednesday morning, targeting militia barracks and hideouts east of Saada city and Al Salem district in the same governorate,” Al-Ain reported.
- The strikes have included more than 15 raids on the Sahar and Kitaf districts in Saada, in addition to two raids on the town of Qahza, southeast of Saada.
- “This escalation comes after the Houthis announced their ninth attack on the US aircraft carrier Truman in the Red Sea.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Houthi rebels have launched an attack against an American aircraft carrier and an airport, with two missiles targeting the American assets.
- The attacks come in the aftermath of U.S. aggression against Yemen, with attacks over the past few days all over the country.
- The Yemeni Army released a statement confirming their attacks.
- “The first targeted Ben Gurion Airport with two ballistic missiles, and the second targeted several enemy destroyers, as well as the Truman aircraft carrier, in the Red Sea with several missiles and drones, in a clash that lasted several hours,” military leaders said in a statement.
- The attacks lasted several hours and were meant to stop an air attack coming to the Gaza Strip.
- The American-targeted attacks come after U.S. airstrikes hit Yemen’s Houthi rebels pounded sites across the country overnight and into Monday, with the group saying the one attack in the capital killed at least one person and wounded more than a dozen others.
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Important Takeaways:
- An Iranian general vowed to respond “decisively and destructively” to any threats after President Donald Trump said he ordered American forces to launch military action against Houthis in Yemen.
- “We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they carry out their threats,” Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state media following U.S. strikes over the weekend against the Tehran-backed terrorist group, according to Reuters.
- “We are not a nation to live in hiding. We are a valid and legitimate system in the world. We announce it if we attack anywhere,” Salami was quoted as saying by ABC News.
- U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
- Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday that he “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.”
- “It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden,” Trump continued. “The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times.”
- Trump wrote that the “relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”
- “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” his post concluded.
- The Houthis are claiming the recent U.S. strikes have killed at least 53 people and injured around 100, according to the Associated Press.
- “We will confront escalation with escalation,” the leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, reportedly said Sunday.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S. military pounded Houthi targets over the weekend and warned Hamas of a similar fate if they don’t agree to a hostage deal.
- Dozens of U.S airstrikes and missile strikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen left at least 31 people dead, and some of them may have been Houthi leaders.
- The attacks came after the Houthis warned they were about to resume hitting ships in the Red Sea and nearby waters. Earlier attacks by the Houthis since the start of the war in Gaza have disrupted global shipping costing billions of dollars.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday, “Four months ago when we sent a ship through, it was shot at 17 times. Ships haven’t been able to go through for over a year without being shot at. Freedom of navigation is basic. It’s a core national interest.”
- President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social, “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the waterways of the world.”
- The president also warned Iran to stop backing the Houthis, posting, “Beware, because America will hold you fully accountable and we won’t be nice about it!” Iranian leaders repeated their denial that they were assisting the Houthis.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims America is doing the world a favor.
- He stated on CBS Face the Nation, “The strike in Yemen is about their ability to – the ability of the Houthis – to strike global shipping and attack the U.S. Navy, and their willingness to do it. 174 times against the U.S. Navy, some 145 times against global shipping. That’s what this strike is about.”
- Hegseth [said] “We’re pounding them militarily,” he said, and noted, “By the way, to the Houthis: this isn’t a one-night thing. This will continue until you say, ‘We’re done shooting at ships. We’re done shooting at assets.'”
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Important Takeaways:
- With Hezbollah in Lebanon disabled and Hamas’ strength waning, Houthi rebels in Yemen have been launching missiles at Israel, and Israel is striking back.
- Israeli airstrikes pounded the rebel regime in Yemen early Thursday after the Houthis launched another missile at Israel – one of several fired at the Jewish state in recent days.
- Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to huddle with top officials to discuss a hostage deal that may be fast approaching.
- A Palestinian negotiator told the BBC the talks are in the final stage. Though issues remain, it may include a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas would free 30 of the remaining 100 hostages.
- IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said from Gaza that Israeli troops continue to do their part there.
- “We are exerting pressure on Hamas daily, driving it into greater distress, to ensure the return of the 100 hostages,” Halevi said.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Pentagon’s statement reads:
- “Today, U.S. military forces, including U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers, conducted precision strikes against five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. U.S. forces targeted several of the Houthis’ underground facilities housing various weapons components of types that the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the region. This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified. The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.
- For over a year, the Iran-backed Houthis, Specially Designated Global Terrorists, have recklessly and unlawfully attacked U.S. and international vessels transiting the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis’ illegal attacks continue to disrupt the free flow of international commerce, threaten environmental catastrophe, and put innocent civilian lives and U.S. and partner forces’ lives at risk. At the direction of President Biden, I authorized these targeted strikes to further degrade the Houthis’ capability to continue their destabilizing behavior and to protect and defend U.S. forces and personnel in one of the world’s most critical waterways.
- Again, the United States will not hesitate to take action to defend American lives and assets; to deter attacks against civilians and our regional partners; and to protect freedom of navigation and increase the safety and security in these waterways for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks. I am grateful for the professionalism and skill of the brave American troops who took part in today’s actions and who continue to stand guard in defense of our Nation.”
- The timing of such a strike makes perfect sense as it happened just as the tension between Israel and Iran is about to hit uncharted territory and the world awaits what is by all indications going to be a significant strike by Israel directly on Iran.
- Sending a very direct reminder that the U.S. has the ability to destroy extremely hardened sites with conventional weapons and it is willing to use them seems right on cue in terms of deterrence theater.
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Important Takeaways:
- The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) condemned the Houthi terrorist organization of Yemen on Tuesday for raiding its office in the national capital, Sana’a, stealing critical documents, and taking employees hostage.
- High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk demanded the freedom of his employees and uninterrupted access to Yemeni civilians in a statement on Tuesday revealing a previously unreported Houthi raid on U.N. officials on August 3. The Houthis, whose Iran-backed terrorist organization is formally known as “Ansarallah,” have for years brutalized human rights workers within their reach. More recently, in June, the Houthis launched an abduction spree in which they raided the homes of U.N. and non-governmental organization workers and took them hostage, severely disrupting humanitarian efforts.
- The OHCHR affirmed that the United Nations had been one of several targets of the June raids, in which the Houthis abducted 13 U.N. staffers, six of them affiliated with the Human Rights Office.
- “They are all being held incommunicado.”
- On August 3, Houthi leaders reportedly expanded the repression by raiding the OHCHR office in Sana’a and stealing critical information. That office had stopped operating after the raids in June.
- “Ansar Allah de facto authorities sent a ‘delegation’ to the premises of the UN Human Rights Office in Sana’a that forced national staff to hand over belongings, including documents, furniture and vehicles, in addition to the office’s keys. They are still in control of the premises,” the U.N. body confirmed on Tuesday.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S.-led campaign against the Houthi rebels, overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, has turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced since World War II
- The combat pits the Navy’s mission to keep international waterways open against a group whose former arsenal of assault rifles and pickup trucks has grown into a seemingly inexhaustible supply of drones, missiles and other weaponry.
- Near-daily attacks by the Houthis since November have seen more than 50 vessels clearly targeted
- The Houthis say the attacks are aimed at stopping the war in Gaza and supporting the Palestinians, though it comes as they try to strengthen their position in Yemen.
- All signs suggest the warfare will intensify — putting U.S. sailors, their allies and commercial vessels at more risk.
- The U.S. has been indirectly trying to lower tensions with Iran, particularly after Tehran launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel and now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
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Important Takeaways:
- “We are serious about welcoming students that have been suspended from U.S. universities for supporting Palestinians,” an official at Sanaa University, which is run by the Houthis, told Reuters. “We are fighting this battle with Palestine in every way we can.”
- Sanaa University had issued a statement applauding the “humanitarian” position of the students in the United States and said they could continue their studies in Yemen.
- The U.S. and Britain returned the Houthi militia to a list of terrorist groups this year as their attacks on vessels in and around the Red Sea hurt global economies.
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Important Takeaways:
- Houthi rebels release video of $30 million US drone shot down in Yemen – the second they’ve destroyed in months – as Red Sea tensions escalate
- Houthi rebels released footage of what they claim is a $30 million US drone they shot down in Yemen – the second they’ve destroyed since late last year- as Red Sea tensions escalate.
- The Houthis released video Tuesday of a surface-to-air missile bringing down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Hodeida, a Yemeni port city they hold on the Red Sea.
- The footage included a video of men dragging pieces of debris from the water onto a beach.
- Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed an attack on the Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier full of grain bound for Aden, Yemen, carrying grain from Argentina.
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