February 3, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

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US forces struck an additional Houthi anti-ship cruise missile in Yemen early Sunday local time, according to US Central Command.

The strike was conducted in “self defense” against a Houthi cruise missile “prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea” at 4 a.m. local time on Sunday, US Central Command said in a statement. 

US forces determined the cruise missile presented an “imminent threat” to US Navy ships and other vessels in the region.

The strike is a part of the US military’s effort to deter the Houthis from further disrupting the global shipping lanes in the Red Sea. 

Israel’s military has attacked more than 3,400 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and more than 50 in Syria since the war in Gaza broke out 120 days ago, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

At a press briefing Saturday, Hagari said Israel has been trying to stop Hezbollah’s “supply chain of ammunition and missiles,” which he alleged were being smuggled from Iran to Syria and then to Lebanon.

Hagari also said the Israeli military has deployed three divisions along the Lebanese border since October 7 – instead of the usual single division to try to thwart Hezbollah’s capabilities and protect people in northern Israel.

Hezbollah on Saturday said it had launched at least eight attacks on Israeli positions.

The IDF acknowledged that “a number of launches” were identified crossing from Lebanon to northern Israel, but said no injuries were reported and that it struck the sources of the fire.

In this image provided by the UK Ministry of Defense, RAF Typhoon FRG4s are prepared to conduct strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen on Saturday.

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday that strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen are about protection.

“The Houthis’ attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea are illegal and unacceptable and it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation,” Shapps said in a statement after the United Kingdom and United States conducted the strikes against the Iranian-backed rebel group.

Shapps also said the strikes were “not an escalation,” adding that they have “already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks” on ships in the Red Sea.

In a separate joint statement with the US-led coalition, the UK said that Houthi attacks constituted “an international challenge” and issued a warning to Houthi leadership. 

The Houthi rebels have said their strikes on Red Sea ships are in response to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Mohammed Al Bukhaiti, a top member of the Houthi Political Council, said the group will continue its military operations until the siege on Gaza is lifted and vowed to respond to the latest US and UK strikes in Yemen.

In the group’s first reaction to the latest wave of attacks, he warned: “We will meet escalation with escalation.”

Al Bukhaiti wrote on X:

Recent strikes by the US military in the Middle East make it difficult to reach a political solution in the region, Iran’s foreign minister told the United Nations’ special envoy for Yemen on Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run news agency.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the comments prior to US officials confirming the latest strikes Saturday on Houthi targets. The attacks follow multiple joint US-UK airstrikes on the Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen last month.

During their meeting in Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian told Special Envoy Hans Grundberg that the US strikes and its decision to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization have “complicated the situation and made it more difficult to reach a political solution,” the state news agency, IRNA, reported. 

Amir-Abdollahian also called US strikes “the continuation of Washington’s wrong and failed approach to resolve issues by force and through militarism,” IRNA reported. 

Remember: The US also conducted major airstrikes on 85 targets across seven locations in Iraq and Syria on Friday in response to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. 

The strikes in Yemen are distinct from the attacks in Iraq and Syria: The former is a response to ongoing Houthi attacks on international shipping and US warships in the Red Sea, while the latter is a retaliation for the deadly attack on US troops. But both target Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East.

A US-led coalition conducts airstrikes in Yemen on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden gave the green light for Saturday’s strikes earlier in the week, according to two senior administration officials. 

The strikes are separate from the retaliatory measures the United States took on Friday in Syria and Iraq, and are related to ongoing actions to defend US ships and international commercial vessels in the Red Sea, according to one administration official.

They mark the third set of strikes as part of a coalition that includes the United States, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and New Zealand. 

The senior administration official stressed that the US does not want escalation, and that the strikes are in direct response to the actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

The strikes occurred as Biden visited his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. The president is currently en route to Los Angeles, where he’s expected to participate in campaign fundraisers. 

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels say their strikes on ships in the Red Sea as in response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. There are fears that the attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

On Saturday, the US and UK struck over 30 Houthi targets across Yemen, while the US also struck six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles that the group was prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, according to US officials.

This is what you should know about the rebel group:

Civil war: The Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah (Supporters of God), is one side of the Yemeni civil war that has raged for nearly a decade. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government, triggering a civil war. The war has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and pushing parts of the country into famine.

Backed by Iran: The Houthis are backed by Iran, which began increasing its aid to the group in 2014 as the civil war escalated and as its rivalry with Saudi Arabia intensified. Iran has provided the group with weapons and technology for, among other things, sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Shipping attacks: While the Houthis may not be able to pose a serious threat to Israel, their technology can wreak havoc in the Red Sea. There are fears that the Houthi drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels, which have occurred almost daily since December 9, could cause an even greater shock to the world economy. The Houthi strikes could be intended to inflict economic pain on Israel’s allies in the hope they will pressure it to cease its bombardment of Gaza. Championing the Palestinian cause could also be an attempt to gain legitimacy at home and in the region as they seek to control northern Yemen. It could also give them an upper hand against their Arab adversaries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who they accuse of being lackeys of the US and Israel.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1.

The additional strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen send a clear message to the Iran-backed militia, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday.

Austin issued the following statement:

Coalition statement: In a separate statement, the US, UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand said. 

This file photo shows an F/A-18 conducting flight operations on October 14, 2017.

The US and the United Kingdom have conducted strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen from air and surface platforms — including F/A-18s — on over 30 targets across 13 locations, according to officials.

The US and UK carried out the strikes with the support of several other countries, according to a joint statement on Saturday.

The Houthis said US and UK warplanes struck multiple provinces in Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa.

Two US destroyers fired Tomahawk missiles as part of the strikes, a US official told CNN. The USS Gravely and USS Carney fired the land-attack cruise missiles and F/A-18 fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier were also involved, officials said.

For context: Strikes on consecutive days come as President Joe Biden’s administration has vowed a “multi-tiered” response to a drone attack that killed three US service members and wounded more than 40 last weekend.

Seeking to avoid a regional war with Tehran, the US has not targeted Iran directly, instead going after some of its most powerful proxies in the region. It is an indirect way of trying to send a message to Iran’s leadership, which has grown increasingly nervous about the actions of some of the militant organizations it backs, CNN has reported. Iran funds, arms and supplies these groups to different degrees, but its leadership does not control them directly.

The strikes in Yemen are distinct from the attacks in Iraq and Syria: The former is a response to ongoing Houthi attacks on international shipping lanes and US warships in the Red Sea, while the latter is a retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops. But both target Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East.

CNN’s Eyad Kourdi contributed to this post.

The post has been updated with the joint statement, information about US missiles and more background on the strikes against Houthi targets.

The Pentagon is seen in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2023.

The US struck six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles in Yemen on Saturday, according to US Central Command, one day after destroying a series of Houthi drones both in the air and on the ground.

At 7:20 p.m. local time in Yemen (11:20 a.m. ET) on Saturday, the US struck the cruise missiles as the Iranian-backed rebel group was prepared to launch them against ships in the Red Sea, CENTCOM said.

Remember: The US has been going after Houthi weaponry — both before and after launches — with increasing frequency as part of an effort to disrupt attacks from the Iranian-backed rebel group on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

On Friday, US forces shot down a total of eight drones and destroyed four more before they were launched in three separate incidents, according to CENTCOM.

Hamas reiterated on Saturday that an end of military hostilities and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip are necessary preconditions for a hostage release deal.

In a news conference held in Beirut on Saturday, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group received a “general framework proposal” that was circulated during a meeting held last weekend in Paris between Israeli, American, Qatari and Egyptian officials. 

Hamas also called for “practical international recognition of the right of our people to self-determination and establishing their independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Hamdan’s statement echoes a sentiment he expressed to Lebanese media Friday, when he said a “full inclusive ceasefire” is needed before a hostage deal is reached. 

Israel’s position: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the conditions proposed by Hamas, asserting that Israel will not pull back its troops from Gaza.

“I want to make it clear, we will not end this war with less than the achievement of all its goals. This means the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said on Tuesday.

Protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration outside the Charles Bronfman auditorium at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 3.

Thousands of people are protesting in parts of Israel today to demand a change in government and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

In the coastal town of Caesarea, protesters rallied in the rain before marching toward one of the private residences of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some were seen calling for the prime minister’s removal, chanting, “Guilty, guilty, guilty!”

And in Tel Aviv, protesters gathered at Habima Square to call for immediate elections. 

Many waved Israeli flags and held up signs with images of the Israeli hostages, calling on the government to “bring them home.”

The US Capitol is pictured in Washington, DC, on January 31.

The US House of Representatives will vote next week on a standalone bill providing aid for Israel, Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a letter to colleagues Saturday.

Johnson put a $14.3 billion Israel aid package on the floor last year that included partisan Internal Revenue Service funding cuts that Democrats opposed. Now, the speaker is planning to move a $17.6 billion Israel bill with no offsets, upping pressure on Democrats to support it. 

In his letter to lawmakers, Johnson attacked senators for excluding him and the House from bipartisan negotiations over a US border security deal, which is expected to be paired with aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. 

Johnson called on the Senate to take up the standalone Israel bill swiftly, ratcheting up pressure on senators to abandon their efforts to keep Israel aid linked with other issues.

Senate negotiators are expected to unveil bill text for a border deal and supplemental funding package no later than Sunday, with procedural votes starting next week. But its prospects for passage remain in doubt, given the opposition from House Republicans and former President Donald Trump.

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the US strikes on Iraq and Syria, a diplomatic source told CNN. 

Russia requested an urgent Security Council meeting, according to Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Russian state news agency TASS reported earlier Saturday. 

In a statement earlier Saturday, Moscow criticized the US for “inflaming conflict” and sowing “destruction and chaos” in the Middle East.

Russia’s criticism comes as it wages a grueling war following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Key regional players also slammed the US military action:

Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese paramilitary group backed by Iran, said in a statement Saturday that “blatant American aggression against Iraq and Syria” contributed to the destabilization of the region and demonstrated a disregard for humanitarian and international laws.

Hezbollah is among the Iranian proxies at the center of fears of a wider war in the Middle East, due to ongoing clashes with Israeli troops at the border in southern Lebanon.

Hamas, which remains at war with Israel in Gaza, also condemned the airstrikes as an act of “American aggression” and a “significant escalation,” saying the US had acted in “violation of the sovereignty of the two Arab countries.”

This post has been updated with the meeting scheduled for Monday, according to a source.

Pope Francis leads a Mass at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on February 2.

Pope Francis on Saturday reiterated the Catholic Church’s condemnation of “every form of anti-Judaism and anti-semitism”, in a letter released by the Vatican addressed to “my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel”. 

He described “manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism as a sin against God”.

“Together with you, we, Catholics, are very concerned about the terrible increase in attacks against Jews around the world,” he continues.

“My heart is torn at the sight of what is happening in the Holy Land, by the power of so much division and so much hatred […] My heart is close to you, to the Holy Land, to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israelis and Palestinians, and I pray that the desire for peace may prevail in all.”

Francis said: “In a special way we pray for the return of the hostages, rejoicing because of those who have already returned home, and praying that all the others will soon join them.”

A spate of antisemitic attacks have shaken Jewish communities in Europe in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attacks in Israel.

In London, the first week after Hamas’ attacks saw a 1,353% rise in antisemitic incidents, the Metropolitan Police reported.

Germany’s Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck, said in a video message in November that “Jewish communities are moving their members to avoid certain places for their own safety – and this is happening today, here in Germany, almost 80 years after the Holocaust.”

The General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces denied involvement in the recent airstrikes conducted by the US in Iraq, according to a statement published by Jordanian state news channel Al-Mamlaka on Saturday. 

Jordanian state news agency Petra cited a source in the Jordanian army denying reports that suggested Jordan participated in airstrikes on Iraq labeling them as “not true.” 

Dana Zureikat Daoud, the spokesperson for the Jordanian Embassy in Washington DC, said on X that the statement refutes earlier media reports alleging the involvement of Jordanian aircraft in operations executed by US forces inside Iraq.

It remains unclear whether Jordan had any role in the airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militias in Syria, or if any logistical support was provided to the U.S. during the airstrikes that occurred on Friday.

A senior US official earlier told CNN that Jordan is participating in the US operation on Iranian-backed targets. 

President Joe Biden speaks to the media at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30.

Immediately after US officials in Washington received word that Tower 22 in Jordan was struck last weekend — ultimately resulting in the deaths of three American service members — President Joe Biden was presented with, and approved, a range of options on Sunday for retaliation, sources say. 

It was in a meeting in the Situation Room with his top national security advisers the following morning that Biden gave the specific green light for the first set of strikes in Iraq and Syria that was executed Friday. The US said 85 targets were struck.

It was also in that same Monday morning meeting that the president was informed with the assessment that militant groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were to blame for the Sunday drone attack, according to sources. 

In the days to come, the president’s national security team worked in close coordination with the Department of Defense as they monitored conditions in the region to finalize plans.

Officials had told reporters Friday night that weather on the region had been a significant factor for why the strikes were carried out when they were. 

Senior officials from multiple agencies convened Thursday, then again Friday morning for a “final check,” before proceeding with Friday’s strikes.

A senior US official has told CNN that Jordan is participating in the US operation on Iranian-backed targets. 

A representative of the Jordanian government would not comment. 

On Friday, the US struck 85 targets linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria in response to a drone strike in Jordan on Sunday that killed three American soldiers.

The attack in Jordan occurred at Tower 22 near the country’s border with Syria. US forces at the outpost are there as part of an advise-and-assist mission with Jordan.

While no Jordanian border guard forces were hurt, government communications minister Muhannad Moubaideen on Sunday described the strike as a “terrorist attack” and vowed to confront the threat of terrorism.

US forces conducted strikes against multiple Houthi drones preparing to launch in Yemen on Friday, and US ships also shot down multiple drones in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The strikes come as the US continues to target Houthi drone capabilities in an effort to protect shipping in the region, and after the US hit 85 targets in airstrikes conducted against other Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

Friday’s strikes targeted a drone over the Gulf of Aden in the morning. CENTCOM said it has identified the drone as originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Later, the US conducted strikes against four Houthi UAVs that were preparing to launch from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and then seven more drones flying over the Red Sea.

The strikes were launched from the USS Carney and USS Laboon with F/A-18s from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.

No injuries or damage were reported.

The US continues to attempt to deter further attacks on its army in the region, without causing conflict to spread. On Tuesday, a cruise missile launched by the Houthis into the Red Sea came within a mile of a US destroyer before it was shot down, the closest a Houthi attack has come to a US warship.