Ali Dhafar argues that Yemen’s recent strategic military operations against US and Israeli assets signal its growing capabilities.
The latest round of strikes occurred as the United States and its ally Israel struggle to halt a campaign of regional assaults by Yemen’s Houthi militants.
Yemen's Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said the country would continue to defend itself after several U.S. strikes targeted facilities in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday.
"On Dec. 30 and 31, U.S. 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 U.S. military's Central Command said in a post on X.
The U.S. has been targeting Houthi facilities in Yemen and has long carried out military activities in the country.
The more than a dozen strikes in Sana'a and other parts of Yemen are the first major ones since the Navy shot down its own F/A-18F.
Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv Monday after reports of a missile launch from Yemen, sending residents running for shelter.
Israel’s military says it intercepted a missile fired toward the country by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The attack set off sirens late Monday in central areas of Israel, including Tel Aviv.
The targets struck by U.S. forces had been used to attack American warships and commercial vessels, officials said.
Houthi militants have used the targeted facilities to conduct attacks on U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to Central Command.
The head of the World Health Organization said he was about to board a flight in the Yemeni capital when the airport came under bombardment.