U.S.-Yemen ceasefire deal does not include attacks on Israel, says Houthi official

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 07, 2025 8:49 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A ceasefire woody betwixt Yemen's Houthis and the U.S. does not see sparing Israel, the radical said Wednesday, suggesting its shipping attacks that person disrupted planetary commercialized and challenged satellite powers volition not travel to a implicit halt.

President Donald Trump announced connected Tuesday the U.S. would stop bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis successful Yemen, saying that the radical had agreed to halt attacking U.S. ships.

After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire woody to halt attacks connected U.S. vessels.

There person been nary reports of Houthi attacks connected shipping successful the Red Sea country since January.

"The statement does not see Israel successful immoderate way, signifier oregon form," Mohammed Abdulsalam, the main Houthi negotiator, told Reuters.

"As agelong arsenic they announced the cessation [of U.S. strikes] and they are really committed to that, our presumption was self-defence, truthful we volition stop."

While tensions whitethorn person eased betwixt the United States and the Houthis, a resilient unit that withstood years of dense Saudi-led bombing successful Yemen's civilian war, the statement does not regularisation retired attacks connected immoderate different Israel-linked vessels oregon targets.

The U.S. intensified strikes connected the Houthis this year to stop attacks connected Red Sea shipping. Rights activists person raised concerns implicit civilian casualties.

"They said, 'Please don't weaponry america immoderate much and we're not going to onslaught your ships,'" Trump said of the Houthis during an Oval Office gathering with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney connected Tuesday.

"And I volition judge their word. And we are going to halt the bombing of the Houthis effectual immediately."

U.S. has struck much than 1,000 targets

The Houthis person been firing astatine Israel and astatine shipping successful the Red Sea since Israel began its military violative against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group's deadly onslaught connected Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023.

The U.S. subject has said it has struck much than 1,000 targets since its current cognition successful Yemen — known arsenic Operation Rough Rider — started connected March 15. The strikes, the U.S. subject said, person killed "hundreds of Houthi fighters and galore Houthi leaders."

Tensions person been precocious since the Gaza war began, but person risen further since a Houthi missile landed adjacent Israel's Ben Gurion Airport connected Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes connected Yemen's Hodeidah larboard connected Monday.

The Israeli military carried retired an airstrike on Yemen's main airdrome successful Sanaa connected Tuesday, its 2nd onslaught successful 2 days connected Houthi rebels aft a surge successful tensions betwixt the radical and Israel.

Under erstwhile U.S. president Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. and Britain retaliated with airstrikes against Houthi targets successful an effort to support unfastened the important Red Sea trading way — the way for astir 15 per cent of planetary shipping traffic.

After Trump took implicit the U.S. presidency in January, helium decided to importantly intensify airstrikes against the Houthis. The run came aft the Houthis said they would resume attacks connected Israeli ships passing done the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

On April 28, a suspected U.S. airstrike deed a migrant centre successful Yemen, with Houthi TV saying 68 radical were killed.