Fresh U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets fuel fears of escalation of Middle East crisis

Fresh U.S. airstrikes hit a Houthi rebel target in Yemen on Saturday after the militants warned of further attacks on ships in the Red Sea. 

The latest strike, which the U.S. said targeted a radar site, came a day after dozens of American and British strikes on the group's facilities.

The guided missile destroyer Carney used Tomahawk missiles in the follow-on strike early on Saturday "to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels," the U.S. Central Command said.

The Houthi movement's television channel Al-Masirah reported that the U.S. and Britain were targeting the Yemeni capital Sanaa with raids.

Intensifying concerns about a widening regional conflict, U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines on Thursday launched missiles against targets across Yemen controlled by the group, which has cast its maritime campaign as support for Palestinians under siege by Israel in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

WATCH: Expert Jamie Shea discusses the Yemen attacks

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all sides "not to escalate" the volatile situation in the Red Sea and "wider region" in the "interest of peace and stability."

Later, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, told the UN Security Council "we are witnessing the cycle of violence that risks grave political security, economic and humanitarian repercussions in Yemen and the region. These developments in the Red Sea and the risk of exacerbating regional tensions are alarming."

Even as Houthi leaders swore to retaliate, U.S. President Joe Biden warned he could order more strikes if they did not stop their attacks on merchant and military vessels in one of the world's most economically vital waterways.

"We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior," Biden said.

Witnesses confirmed explosions early on Friday, Yemen time, at military bases near airports in the capital Sanaa and Yemen's third city Taiz, a naval base at Yemen's main Red Sea port Hodeidah and military sites in the coastal Hajjah governorate.

The Pentagon said the U.S.-British assault reduced the Houthis' capacity to launch fresh attacks, adding that 60 targets in 28 sites were hit.

The Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of the west and north of Yemen, said five fighters were killed, but they vowed to continue their attacks on regional shipping.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations information hub said it had received reports of a missile landing in the sea around 500 meters from a ship about 90 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden. The shipping security firm Ambrey identified it as a Panama-flagged tanker carrying Russian oil.

Biden, whose administration removed the Houthis from a State Department list of "foreign terrorist organizations" in 2021, was asked by reporters if he felt the term "terrorist" described the movement now. "I think they are," he said.

Israel-Gaza crisis

The Red Sea crisis is part of the violent regional spillover of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. Israel hit back after Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages, and flattened areas of Gaza with shelling leading to over 23,000 Palestinian deaths.

Violence has also surged in the West Bank with Israeli forces killing three militants who had attacked a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the army said. Also in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said a man was killed after being severely beaten by Israeli forces in Zeita, north of the city of Tulkarem.

Israeli army raids and attacks on settlers have killed at least 338 people in the West Bank since October 7, according to an AFP tally based on sources on both sides.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said earlier that the U.S. and Britain "single-handedly triggered a spillover of the conflict in Gaza to the entire region." In Washington, Kirby said, "We're not interested in a war with Yemen."

The U.S.-UK air strikes follow months of raids by Houthi fighters, who have boarded ships they claimed were Israeli or heading for the country. Many of the vessels had no known connection to Israel.

Iran has condemned the strikes but there has been no sign so far that they are seeking direct conflict. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the White House could "restore security across the region" by stopping its "all-out military and security cooperation" with Israel.

Houthi attacks have forced commercial ships to take a longer, costlier route around Africa, creating fears of a new bout of inflation and supply chain disruption. Container shipping rates for key global routes have soared this week.

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