Houthis claim latest US-UK Yemen strikes won’t go unanswered as Israel says 21 soldiers killed in Gaza – live

US and UK strikes on Houthi fighters in Yemen will not deter the Iranian-backed group from attacking ships in the Red Sea, experts have warned, as tensions spike across the Middle East.

While the US has launched at least seven rounds of strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen – with the UK also involved in the first strikes last week – experts have told The Independent that the strikes amount merely to a short-term solution to a problem that requires a long-term answer.

The UK and the US have launched fresh airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

In a joint statement, the governments of the US, UK, Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands said the “precision strikes” were “intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners”.

US Central Command also said the strikes targeted “areas in Houthi-controlled Yemen used to attack international merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” including such specific targets as “missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities”.

The joint airstrikes follow a telephone conversation between prime minister Rishi Sunak and US president Joe Biden on Monday evening, with the two leaders undertaking to “continue efforts alongside international partners to deter and disrupt” attacks by Houthis.

Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthi’s supreme revolutionary committee wrote on X, after the joint strikes by the US and the UK: “Trust well that every operation and every aggression against our country will not be without a response”.

Mohammed Albukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ ruling council, insisted the group will continue its attacks and defy the West.

“The American-British aggression will only increase the Yemeni people’s determination to carry out their moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards the oppressed in Gaza. The war today is between Yemen, which is struggling to stop the crimes of genocide, and the American-British coalition to support and protect its perpetrators,” he said.

Four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a pair of Voyager tankers, joined US forces in a strike against Houthi sites. The aircraft used Paveway IV precision-guided bombs to strike multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield.

Here the PA news agency looks at the powerful fighter jets, weapons and warships the UK military has sent to the region:

The MoD has released footage of RAF Typhoon and voyagers taking off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to conduct precision strike operations against Houthi military targets in response to further attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The strikes on Monday (22 January) were launched against the Iranian-backed group after they started targeting ships in the Red Sea, a key international trade route, and follow bombings on Houthi sites on 11 January.

Karin Smyth, a shadow health minister, has confirmed the Labour Party had not been briefed ahead of fresh allied strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Speaking to GB News, Ms Smyth said: “We don’t know why the government haven’t spoken to us on the usual terms.

“We would expect them to do that.

“We would certainly expect a statement by the prime minister today in Parliament, so we will await developments on that.

Huw Merriman has said the latest air strikes in the Red Sea will “not just be a one-off” if the Houthis continue to attack cargo ships in the region.

Asked on Sky News if he could rule out the UK joining in with further military action against the rebel militant group in Yemen, Mr Merriman said: “Of course not. We will always back up our words with action.

“But this action again demonstrates that this would not just be a one-off if the Houthis continue.

“That would be the wrong thing to do. For us to take action and then the Houthis respond, and then we do nothing, would send out the completely wrong signal.

“So, this demonstrates that we will be tough and we will take all measures required against the Houthis to protect international shipping and protect the lives of those who operate those ships.”

Yemen’s Shia Houthis are part of Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ dedicated to the destruction of Israel. How are they linked to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and why are they attacking western ships now?

Lord Cameron has again condemned Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, warning that Britain will “continue” to degrade the rebel group’s capabilities.

The foreign secretary said: “Since we last took action 10 days ago, there have been over 12 attacks on shipping by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

“These attacks are illegal, unacceptable. And what we’ve done again is send the clearest possible message that we will continue to degrade their ability to carry out these attacks – while sending the clearest possible message that we back our words and our warnings with action.”

The UK and the US launched fresh airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that four Royal Air Force Typhoons and a pair of Voyager tankers were involved in the latest military strike.

The joint airstrikes saw multiple targets hit at two military sites near the Sanaa airfield in Yemen.

A statement from the Pentagon said the bombing was “proportionate and necessary”.

The MoD says that the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has carried out more than 30 attacks on international shipping since mid-November.

“Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs to strike multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield. These locations were being used to enable the continued intolerable attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea,” the MoD said.

“In line with UK standard practice, a very rigorous analysis was applied in planning the strikes to minimise any risk of civilian casualties, and as with the previous strikes, our aircraft bombed at night to mitigate yet further any such risks,” it added.

US fighter jets from the USS Eisenhower carrier also took part in the strikes on Monday.