Trump Warns Yemen's Houthis 'Will Be Completely Annihilated' as US Launches More Strikes

A man passes by a display of Houthi-made mock missile and drones at a square in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 March 2025. (EPA)
A man passes by a display of Houthi-made mock missile and drones at a square in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 March 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Warns Yemen's Houthis 'Will Be Completely Annihilated' as US Launches More Strikes

A man passes by a display of Houthi-made mock missile and drones at a square in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 March 2025. (EPA)
A man passes by a display of Houthi-made mock missile and drones at a square in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his rhetoric regarding Yemen's Houthi militias as the American military launched more airstrikes against them, warning they “will be completely be annihilated.”

Trump made the comment on his website Truth Social. He claimed, without offering evidence, Iranian military support to the Houthis “has lessened” but said it needed to entirely stop.

“Let the Houthis fight it out themselves,” he wrote. “Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse — It's not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated!”

The Houthis said strikes against them continued overnight. The US military has not offered a breakdown of the strikes.

The United States struck targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Wednesday, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported, the latest in a wave of strikes carried out in retaliation for attacks by the Iran-aligned militias on shipping in the Red Sea.

Three residents told Reuters that the strikes had hit the Al-Jarraf district of Sanaa, close to the city's airport.

The US began the current wave of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen last Saturday, killing at least 31 people in the biggest such operation since Trump returned to the White House in January.

Unfazed by the US strikes and threats, the Houthis have said they will escalate their attacks, including on Israel, in response to the US campaign.

On Tuesday the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile towards Israel and that they would expand their range of targets in that country in the coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.

The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel's war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinians.

The attacks have disrupted global commerce and set the US military off on a costly campaign to intercept missiles.



Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
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Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

The Israeli military carried out a warning strike against "extremists" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the Syrian town of Sahnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF (military) carried out a warning action and struck the organization of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population in the town of Sahnaya, in the Damascus region of Syria," said the statement.

The Israeli announcement came after an eruption of deadly sectarian violence in predominantly Druze areas near Damascus.

The Israeli statement also said a message "was passed on to the Syrian regime - Israel expects it to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze."

A spokesman for Syria's interior ministry, speaking to Reuters from Sahnaya said he had no indication that an attack had taken place.