AL-MUKALLA: Forces from the US and the UK launched a strike on Houthi-held Kamaran Island in the Red Sea on Monday, the latest against Houthi targets in response to the militia’s attacks on ships.
SABA, the Houthi-run official news agency, reported that jets carried out one airstrike on the Yemeni island, off the western city of Hodeidah. There was no information on any injuries to people or damage to property. In June, Houthi media said the two countries’ jets carried out four raids on Kamaran.
The US responded to Houthi attacks on ships by forming a coalition of international marine forces, designating the organization as terrorists and launching strikes on targets in Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, and other Yemeni territories held by the militia. The attacks are said to have targeted missile and drone launchers, explosive-laden drone boats and ammunition storage facilities.
The bulk of US and UK attacks have targeted Hodeidah, Yemen’s sole coastal city controlled by the Houthis where it is claimed they construct drone boats, and store and launch drones and missiles.
The Houthis claim that their strikes on ships in international maritime channels near Yemen are purely intended to target Israeli ships or those heading for Israel and are a bit to put pressure on Israel to cease its war in the Gaza Strip.
Houthi assaults on ships have decreased considerably since July 20, when Israeli airplanes targeted Houthi sites in Hodeidah in retaliation to a fatal drone strike on Tel Aviv.
Despite continuous threats to target Israel and its ships, UK maritime agencies have not detected any new attacks in the shipping lanes off Yemen in the previous two days, compared to virtually daily warnings about fresh attacks early last month.
Citing prior extended periods of quiet, Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East expert and head of Girton College at the University of Cambridge in the UK, contends that the current reduction in attacks does not necessarily imply the Houthis are preparing to cease them.
“The reality is that there have been periods over the past few months when Houthi attacks have diminished. These have been short term and have not signaled a shift in policy. It could just be the lull before the storm,” she said.
She added the Houthis might be weighing up the costs versus benefits of their attacks following the crippling Israeli strikes on Hodeidah.
"But it is unlikely that they will cease their attacks on Red Sea shipping while the war continues to rage in Gaza as this would undermine their propaganda narratives and call into question their claim to be the defenders of Palestine,” she said.
The UN has meanwhile requested urgent aid from foreign donors to help thousands of Yemenis devastated by severe rains and floods.
Matt Huber, International Organization for Migration Yemen’s Acting Chief of Mission Matt Huber said on Monday the country was experiencing an “overwhelming” disaster due to destructive rains and that international humanitarian agencies would be unable to meet their massive needs without the assistance of donors.
“Without significant and sustained support from international donors and partners, the ability to meet the needs of those affected will remain severely limited,” he said.
Heavy rains began in late July, causing flash floods that have killed at least 61 people, injured dozens more, and displaced thousands of families across the country’s central highlands and western coastlines. Local officials in hard-hit districts have declared their areas as disaster zones.
On Monday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned of a high risk of severe floods in Yemen’s central highlands and southern uplands such as Ibb, Dhamar, Sanaa and Hajjah over the next 10 days, warning that Hodeidah province would be hit by sudden rainfall surges on Aug. 16th (20-50 mm) and Aug. 19th (more than 50 mm).
