SANAA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthis army on Sunday morning said it will launch retaliatory attacks for the U.S.-British airstrikes overnight on six provinces under Houthis' control in northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.
"U.S.-British coalition airstrikes will not deter us from our support to Palestinian people in Gaza, and will not pass without response and punishment," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.
"The American-British aggression launched 48 airstrikes during the past hours, including 13 on the capital Sanaa, nine on Hodeidah, 11 on Taiz, seven on al-Bayda, seven on Hajjah, and one on Saada," he said without giving details on casualties.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said "the militaries of the United States and the UK, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted additional strikes against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen."
"The Coalition forces targeted 13 locations associated with the Houthis' deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars," said Austin in a statement.
In reaction, Mohammed al-Bukhaity, a member of the Houthi political bureau, wrote on social media X that Houthi attacks will not stop unless Israel stops its offensive and blockade on Gaza.
Since the Palestine-Israel conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, the Houthis carried out more than 40 missile attacks against commercial vessels and U.S. naval ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, disturbing international shipping in one of the world's most important lanes.
The Houthis say their attacks aim to press Israel to end the offensive and siege of Gaza. ■
