US launches airstrike on Yemen
Yemen warns countries supporting Israel
The United States said it struck targets in Yemen’s capital, hours after a missile attack by Yemen’s Armed Forces wounded people in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv.
The missile, which wounded 16 people, was the second such attack in two days.
Yemen’s foreign minister condemned the US airstrikes in Sana’a, asserting that any nation supporting Israel’s aggression shares responsibility for its atrocities.
“Any country that supports the Zionist regime in any way in its aggression against Sana’a is a partner in this aggression, and must assume responsibility for the repercussions of such conduct,” Jamal Ahmed Ali Amer wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
He also warned Western countries of the disastrous consequences of their support for Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying they will have to pay a heavy price and must brace themselves for a strong response.
“The terrified Zionist regime, which speaks of a bank of targets inside Yemen, has demonstrated its failure and defeat by bombing facilities that have already been struck,” the senior Yemeni diplomat pointed out.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that among the targets of US forces was a missile storage center and a “command-and-control facility,”
American forces also shot down multiple Yemeni drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, it said, shortly after the Al-Masirah TV channel reported that an “aggression” had targeted the Attan district of Sana’a, blaming Western forces.
American and British forces have repeatedly struck targets in Yemen this year in response to attacks by Yemeni Armed Forces on Isarel-bound ships, which Yemen says are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has also previously struck back, including against ports and energy facilities.
The Ansarallah resistance movement claimed responsibility for the Saturday strike on Israel, saying they directed a ballistic missile at “a military target of the Israeli enemy”.
The Israeli military said it failed to intercept the missile, forcing many residents to leave their homes in the early hours.
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israel since Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity.
Friendly fire
Meanwhile, two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday in “an apparent case of friendly fire,” the American military said.
Both pilots were recovered alive but “initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” the United States Central Command said late Saturday local Florida time – where CENTCOM is headquartered.
“This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”
CENTCOM said the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg “mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18” fighter aircraft, which was flown by the Navy pilots off another ship, the USS Harry S. Truman.
The potentially disastrous mistake underscores the dangers of a mission the United States has been involved in for more than a year.