DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected US airstrikes killed at least two people overnight in a stronghold of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the group said Sunday, as a bombing video posted by US President Donald Trump suggested casualties in the campaign may be higher than the rebels acknowledge.
The strikes in Saada killed two people and wounded nine others, with footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showing a strike collapsing what appeared to be a two-story building. The Iranian-backed Houthis aired no footage from inside the building, which they described as a solar power shop.
The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 69 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.
However, the Houthis have not acknowledged any casualties from their security and military leadership — something challenged after an online video was posted by Trump.
Early Saturday, Trump posted what appeared to be black-and-white video from a drone of a group of several dozen people gathered in a circle. An explosion detonates during the 25-second video, with a massive crater left in its wake.
“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack,” Trump claimed, without offering a location for the attack or any other details about the strike. “Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees America’s Mideast military operations, has not published the video, nor offered any specific details about the strikes it has conducted since March 15. The White House has said there have been over 200 strikes so far targeting the Houthis.
The rebel-controlled SABA news agency in Yemen, citing an anonymous source, described the bombing as targeting “a social Eid visit in Hodeida governorate.” Muslims across the world just celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival at the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. SABA had published images of other commanders meeting fighters during the holiday, though not any high-level Houthi officials.
“Those present at that gathering had no connection to the operations carried out by the [Houthis], which are implementing the decision to ban navigation on ships linked to the American and Israeli enemy,” the SABA report said, adding that the attack killed and wounded “dozens.”
However, the Houthis previously have not acknowledged any strike on Hodeida during that time with such a high casualty count. The SABA report also did not describe those killed as civilians, suggesting those killed had ties to the rebels’ security or military forces.
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert of the Basha Report risk advisory firm, cited social media condolence notices suggesting a colonel overseeing police stations for the Houthis in Hodeida had been killed in the strike Trump highlighted alongside his two brothers.
“The strikes have expanded significantly, hitting multiple governorates simultaneously, alongside telecommunications infrastructure, command nodes, properties tied to senior Houthi leadership, and previously untouched tunnel networks in mountainous areas,” al-Basha told The Associated Press.
“We’ve also seen direct targeting of Houthi force gatherings, indicating a more aggressive and evolving shift in the targeting strategy,” al-Basha said.
An AP review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former US President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
However, since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched at least 10 ballistic missiles at Israel, resuming a campaign of bombardment they began in support of Gaza. The missiles have all been intercepted by the air defenses, but they set off sirens that send millions of Israelis scrambling to shelters at all hours of the day and night. On Friday night, the IDF intercepted a drone that the Houthis later said was aimed at the Tel Aviv region.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian terror group Hamas led some 5,000 attackers to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages to the enclave.
The Iran-backed Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success. In addition, they targeted Israel with missiles and drones, killing one person in Tel Aviv and causing significant damage on a number of occasions. Most of the projectiles were intercepted.
The attacks greatly raised the profile of the Houthis, who faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers in Yemen amid a decade-long stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The campaign shows no signs of stopping as the Trump administration has repeatedly linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
A January ceasefire in Gaza held up for several weeks before collapsing amid mutual accusations of violations, and Israel resumed its military offensive to destroy Hamas.