After Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi threatened yesterday to intensify joint attacks with armed factions in Iraq against Israel on the one hand, and attacks on ships in the Red Sea as well, Western raids on the group’s sites in Yemen were renewed today, Friday.

Local sources in Hodeidah reported that American-British aircraft launched 4 raids on Hodeidah Airport, and a raid on Al-Jad Marsa in the port of Al-Salif, targeting fishermen’s boats, with no casualties reported so far, according to media outlets affiliated with the group.

This came days after other raids carried out by Western forces on areas in Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Taiz, which led to the killing and wounding of 58 citizens.

These strikes also came directly after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported in a statement, earlier today, Friday, that its forces succeeded in destroying 8 drones launched by the Houthis over the Red Sea during the past 24 hours.

She also added that the forces also succeeded in destroying two drone boats launched by the Houthis.

Yesterday, Thursday, the British maritime security company Ambrey announced that a commercial ship reported that an explosion occurred near it in the Red Sea today, approximately 19 nautical miles west of Mokha, Yemen.

Since November 19, that is, more than a month after the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, the Houthis have targeted more than 100 ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, with drones and missiles, according to what the leader of the Yemeni group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced in April. The past, claiming that it is linked to Israel or heading to its ports.

While the US Maritime Administration announced in late April that the Houthis had launched more than 50 attacks on ships, seized one ship and sank another since November of last year.

These attacks forced commercial companies to switch to a longer and more expensive route around Africa.

Also, these attacks fueled fears that the war between Israel and Hamas would destabilize the Middle East region, especially after Israel struck the Iranian embassy in Damascus early last April, and Tehran responded to this attack by launching more than 300 marches and missiles into Israel. Then Israel attacked military sites inside Iran.