Houthis Claim Retaliatory Attack on Carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea

U.S. forces launched a series of new attacks on Houthi facilities in Yemen with the militants claiming to have stopped the attacks by targeting the carrier Harry S. Truman. U.S. CENTCOM appeared to confirm the attack mentioning in its report that seven cruise missiles and one-way attack UAVs were destroyed over the Red Sea.

On December 30 and 31, CENTCOM reports U.S. Navy ships and aircraft targeted a Houthi command and control facility as well as sites for the production and storage of advanced conventional weapons. The U.S. reported it had targeted both a location in the city of Sanaa and coastal locations. They also said a coastal radar site was destroyed.

CENTCOM cited the attacks on U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels by the Houthi in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The strikes yesterday and today followed similar strikes by the U.S. forces on December 21 when F/A-18s were launched against Houthi command and control targets along with operations by the U.S. Navy. During those strikes, CENTCOM also confirmed shooting down multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea. 

The Houthis’ spokesperson Yahya Saree released a statement today reporting their forces, “targeted the American carrier Harry S Truman with a large number of drones and cruise missiles while the American forces were preparing to launch a major air attack against our country.” He went on to assert, “the American air attack that was being prepared on our country was thwarted.”

The Houthis also alleged that they had targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and a power station south of Jerusalem with missiles. They claimed to have hit the power station with two rockets.

Israeli media did report that air raid sirens had been sounded in Central Israel last night, but the Israel Defense Forces reported that a missile had been shot down before it reached Israeli territory. After the repeated missile attacks, Israel has launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi positions while on Monday, its ambassador to the UN wanted that the country’s patience was running out. While calling for an international solution to the Houthis, Ambassador Danny Danon threatened the group with a "miserable fate" if the attacks continued. He compared the Houthis prospects to those of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria's Bashar al-Assad.