Houthis vow revenge after U.S. and U.K. airstrikes in response to Red Sea attacks

Amna Nawaz:

Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Houthi militants in Yemen fired a missile at a ship today and promised further retaliation after last night's U.S. and British airstrikes against Houthi targets.

Geoff Bennett:

U.S. officials say the airstrikes are a bid to stop the Houthi disruption of shipping through the Red Sea and not intended to widen the war in Gaza.

As Nick Schifrin reports, the U.S. warned it will strike again if the Houthi campaign continues.

Nick Schifrin:

For as far as the eye could see, pro-Houthi demonstrators today filled the streets of the capital, Sanaa, waving weapons, demanding death to their enemies, a promise repeated by Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi.

Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, Head of Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee (through interpreter): Did you not hear yesterday, Yemeni people, the airstrikes? Are they not the same raids we have seen? They did not bring anything new, but we are the ones who will bring something new.

Nick Schifrin:

Last night, from jets, ships and a submarine, the U.S. says a first round of strikes targeted 16 locations, and then 30 to 60 minutes later an additional 12 locations with more than 150 munitions.

A Western official told "PBS NewsHour" that was on the higher end of military options. The U.S. military says it hit more than 60 individual targets in mostly unpopulated areas, targeting air defense, drones and missiles that the Houthis have used in recent attacks, including the Tuesday attack that precipitated the military strikes, more than two dozen Houthi drones and missiles aimed at U.S. warships.

Joe Biden, President of the United States: If they continue to act, behave as they do, we will respond.

Nick Schifrin:

Since November, Houthis have seized and targeted 27 commercial ships in the Red Sea; 30 percent of global container traffic and more than a million barrels of crude oil every day sail through the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.

Now, many of those ships are rerouting around Africa, driving up consumer prices and causing supply chain delays. This morning, crude oil futures jumped 4 percent to more than $80 a barrel.

The international reaction to the military strike was mixed. Russia called an emergency Security Council meeting and called the strikes irresponsible. Oman denounced the strikes, warning they could escalate conflict in the region. Saudi Arabia said in a statement it was following the events with great concern and called for self-restraint.

For nearly 10 years, Houthi rebels backed by Iran have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition. Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 from the country's internationally recognized government. The subsequent brutal civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis, but for the last 20 months, there's been a shaky cease-fire.

Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government now agree on a road map to peace, and some regional and U.S. officials worry that military strikes could reverse political progress. But that could depend on what happens next and the extent of the expected Houthi military response.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.