The Houthis are used to airstrikes after years of Yemen’s civil war – they won’t go quietly

The US and UK have been clear that attacks on Red Sea shipping cannot go unanswered, writes Bel Trew. But the issue will be exactly how much Houthi capability has been damaged

People take part in a protest on the streets of the Yemeni Red Sea city of Hodeidah (AFP/Getty)

The impact of Israel’s bloody war inside Gaza has sent tidal waves through the Red Sea and across the region.

Now British warplanes and American jets, ships and submarines have launched more than 100 precision-guided munitions at dozens of targets across Yemen against the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group that has taken control of swathes of the war-ravaged country across the last decade.

This extraordinary action was in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which the rebels claim is aimed at Israel-bound ships and intended to support the Palestinian cause against Israel. According to some reports, the Houthi attacks have reduced shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait by as much as 40 per cent. The crisis has even threatened to see manufacturing of goods halt – Tesla announced it had to shutter a factory in Germany for two weeks over the unrest.