Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes.
The Houthis initially said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.
There was no immediate comment from the United States about the Houthis’ claimed attacks.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the first US strikes on Yemen under President Donald Trump has risen to 53, including five children, the health ministry said.
In what it said was the definitive toll from Saturday’s strikes, ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi posted on X that 53 people had been killed including “five children and two women” and that 98 people had been wounded.
In a statement posted to Telegram on Monday, a Houthi spokesperson said the attacks on the carrier group were “in retaliation to the continued American aggression against our country”.
Washington has vowed to keep striking Yemen until the rebels stop attacking Red Sea shipping, with Trump warning he will use “overwhelming lethal force”.
Houthi media reported more explosions on Sunday night, accusing the Americans of targeting a cotton ginning factory in the western region of Hodeida as well as the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli ship captured more than a year ago.
Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi called on Yemenis to march in defiance today.
In response to the latest escalation along the maritime trade route, the United Nations has urged both sides to “cease all military activity”.
China, meanwhile, called for “dialogue” and a de-escalation of tensions in the Red Sea after the rebels claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier group twice.
“China opposes any action that escalates the situation in the Red Sea,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
The Houthis, who control much of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza conflict, claiming to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip.
The group said it relaunched its attacks over Israel’s halting of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and would “move to additional escalatory options” if “the American aggression against our country continues”.
Washington’s weekend strikes against the Houthis were the first since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out”.Trump meanwhile warned the Huthis that “hell will rain down upon you”.