At least nine civilians were killed and others injured in U.S. strikes on Sanaa, Yemen. President Donald Trump warned the Houthis that if they do not stop launching attacks in the Red Sea, “you will witness hell like you’ve never seen before.”
On Saturday, President Trump announced that the United States had launched “decisive and powerful military action” aimed at ending the threat posed by Houthi rebels in Yemen to shipping traffic in the Red Sea. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump also urged Iran to “immediately” stop supporting the rebels. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we achieve our goal,” Trump said.
Trump’s post did not reference the conflict involving Israel but focused on previous Houthi attacks on U.S. Navy ships, coalition vessels, and commercial ships.
“To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop starting today. If you don’t, hell will rain down on you like you’ve never seen before!” Trump warned.
Trump also cautioned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, against continuing its support for the group. He stated that if Iran threatens the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be kind about it!”
A U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that American military strikes targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen could continue for days or even weeks.
Since November 2023, Houthi rebels, who control vast areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have launched attacks off Yemen’s coast against ships they claim are linked to Israel but also against U.S. and U.K. vessels.
In early March, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States had officially designated Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” following an executive order signed by President Trump weeks earlier.
On Saturday (March 15, 2025), the health ministry of the unrecognized Houthi government announced that 15 people were killed or injured in the U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa.
Anis Al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi health ministry, stated that “the number may increase as this is a preliminary toll.” Al-Asbahi condemned what he described as “an aggression targeting civilian and residential areas east of Sanaa today.”
The Yemeni rebels vowed to retaliate for the strikes on Sanaa. The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah channel quoted the political bureau of Ansar Allah (the Houthis) as saying: “This aggression will not go unanswered; our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation.”
“As if it were an earthquake”
Earlier on Saturday, violent explosions rocked Yemen’s capital following U.S. airstrikes targeting various Houthi sites northwest of Sanaa, which is under Houthi control. Al-Masirah reported that “U.S.-British aggression carried out airstrikes on a residential area in Shu’aub district north of Sanaa.”
Residents in Sanaa said the airstrikes targeted a building in a Houthi stronghold. Abdullah Yahya, one of the residents, told Reuters that the explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood “as if it were an earthquake,” terrifying women and children.
This attack marks the first strike on Yemen since a ceasefire agreement in Gaza came into effect in January.
The strikes came just days after the Houthis announced their intention to resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden—ending a period of relative calm that began in January with the Gaza ceasefire.
The threat was issued as a protest against Israel’s blockade preventing aid from entering Gaza.
