The spokesperson of Yemen’s Houthi rebels Mohammed Abdulsalam said that his country would continue to defend itself after several US strikes targeted facilities in the capital Sanaa.

“The US aggression on Yemen is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state, and blatant support for Israel to encourage it to continue its crimes of genocide against the people of Gaza,” said Abdulsalam on Tuesday, after strikes were conducted by the US for a second day.

The US military said that it carried out attacks against targets in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and coastal locations in Yemen on both Monday and Tuesday.

“On December 30 and 31, US Navy ships and aircraft targeted a Houthi command and control facility and advanced conventional weapon (ACW) production and storage facilities that included missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV),” the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.

CENTCOM Forces Strike Multiple Houthi Targets in Yemen

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted multiple precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Sana’a and coastal locations within Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, Dec. 30 and 31.

On Dec. 30 and 31,… pic.twitter.com/XUKtsZM1U7

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 31, 2024

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that a total of 12 air raids were launched by US military jets, targeting two separate districts in Sanaa.

The Iran-allied group in Yemen has been launching attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year in an ostensible effort to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians being attacked as part of Israel’s yearlong deadly war in Gaza.

Last week, a wave of Israeli air attacks hit Yemen’s main airport, killing at least three people. Separate attacks on the country’s key port city of Hodeidah killed another three people.

The attack on Sanaa’s airport came just as the World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was about to board a flight there.

The Houthis pledged to respond swiftly to the attack and meet “escalation with escalation”.

The Houthis took control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, and have fought a war against forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, including the Yemeni government, in the years since.

‘The support to Gaza continues’

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon on Monday issued what he called a final warning to the Houthis to halt missile attacks on Israel.

Danon also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran. He added that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies.

But hours later, the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, prompting sirens to sound across the country.

The Houthis targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and a power station south of Jerusalem using a hypersonic ballistic missile and a Zulfiqar ballistic missile, respectively, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Tuesday.

The Houthis would not end attacks on Israel, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis’ supreme revolutionary committee, said after the Israeli military announced the missile interception.

“The pounding of the entity [Israel] continues and the support to Gaza continues,” he posted on X.

Danon, in addressing the UN Security Council, said that Israel would not tolerate further Houthi attacks.

“To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year,” he said.

“Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate,” Danon said.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthis that Israel was “just getting started” following the strikes in Yemen, including on Sanaa airport, ports on the country’s west coast as well as two power plants.

Israel’s ongoing assault on the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, where a famine is looming, has so far killed more than 45,000 people and has been described as a genocide by leading rights groups.