The United States and the United Kingdom have carried out strikes on Houthi-controlled positions in Yemen in a new wave of attacks against the Iran-aligned Yemeni group, which has been targeting US and Israeli interests in solidarity with Palestinians.

In addition to Saturday’s strikes, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) also hit a Houthi antiship missile that was “prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea” early on Sunday. Houthi attacks on Israel-linked ships in the narrow strait of Bab al-Mandeb in the Red Sea have disrupted global trade, drawing in the US and the UK response.

Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched dozens of missile, drone and boat attacks on commercial ships linked with Israel, in addition to US and UK military warships, with the stated goal of stopping Israel’s devastating war on Gaza. Houthis have also demanded that Israel allow delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where nearly the entire population of 2.3 million faces hunger.

The wave of new strikes followed a US air assault in Iraq and Syria on Friday that targeted armed groups linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in retaliation for the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan last week. The US has blamed the Jordan attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-linked armed groups. Tehran has tried to distance itself from the drone strike.

The CENTCOM said it launched “proportionate” attacks with “support” from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Thirty-six targets were hit “across 13 locations around midnight Saturday”, the US, the UK and supporting countries said in a joint statement.

“These strikes are intended to degrade Houthi capabilities used to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on US and UK ships as well as international commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden,” it said.BBC