A U.S.-led coalition struck Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen on Thursday, a dramatic escalation after the group ignored warnings from the Biden administration and other governments to stop attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Washington
U.S.-led coalition strikes Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen
“Tonight the U.S. military, in coordination with our partners, conducted strikes in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” the Pentagon said in a brief statement. “We will have more details to share soon.”
Senior U.S. officials have blamed Iran for having “aided and abetted” the crisis in the Red Sea, saying the Houthis would be incapable of threatening the shipping route if not for Tehran’s technological and intelligence support.
Thursday’s strikes will almost certainly heighten tensions across the Middle East, which has seen widening violence since Hamas, another entity aligned with Iran, carried out a stunning cross-border attack on Israel in October. The ensuing war in Gaza has left the Biden administration deeply worried that a strong military response to the Houthis would invite further escalation by Tehran.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have stepped up their targeting of U.S. forces deployed in both countries. American troops have absorbed at least 131 attacks since Oct. 17, according to Pentagon data. The U.S. administration has retaliated with occasional airstrikes, including last week’s killing of a militia leader in Baghdad, but it had up to now withheld a forceful response against the Houthis.
An incident Tuesday marked a turning point, officials said. U.S. and British forces shot down 18 one-way attack drones, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile that had been launched as dozens of merchant ships moved through the Red Sea, according to U.S. Central Command. The onslaught was repulsed by a combination of warships and fighter jets.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the issue’s sensitivity, characterized the encounter as complex and brazen.
“These attacks are a threat to international norms, U.S. interests, and maritime trade. Their actions defy international law and destabilize the region, benefiting no one,” the official said.
Thursday’s operation was preceded by a statement, signed by 13 countries, demanding the Houthis cease their attacks or be held accountable.
At a moment when its strong support for Israel’s campaign against Hamas has put the United States at odds with numerous global partners, the Biden administration has attempted to enlist allied nations in intensifying pressure on the Houthis and to frame that effort as an international campaign.
While the United States conducted a years-long air campaign against al Qaeda militants in Yemen, it has mostly avoided military action against the Houthis, who took power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014. The U.S. Navy did launch missiles at radar sites in Yemen in 2016 following missile attacks on American vessels.
The Houthi takeover ignited a prolonged civil war in Yemen that eventually drew in forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and took a grisly toll on Yemeni civilians. U.S. and U.N. officials have conducted a years-long diplomatic effort to halt that conflict but have been unable to broker a political agreement between the warring Yemeni parties.
The violence has subsided substantially since a ceasefire, now expired, took effect in 2022.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), vice chair of the House Armed Services intelligence and special operations subcommittee, said the volume and complexity of Houthi activity “has made very clear to me that we need to reestablish deterrence.” That is done, she added, “by striking back at them, and you do it in a precision way, and we do everything we can to minimize civilian casualties.”
Some analysts were doubtful the operation would have the intended effect of curbing the Red Sea attacks.
“The Houthis win by taking a U.S. strike, no matter how heavy, and showing that they can keep going with the shipping attacks,” said Michael Knights, a scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The Houthis are high on their successes and will not be easy to deter. They are having the time of their lives, standing up to a superpower who probably cannot deter them.”
Others have said a strong response was necessary. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, a retired general who led U.S. Central Command before retiring in 2022, said earlier this week that it was important to inflict “pain” on the militants responsible.
“And that means you’ve got to strike targets in Yemen that are important to the Houthis,” he said.
The Biden administration’s effort to build an international consensus against the Houthi violence was strengthened Wednesday when the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution voicing strong condemnation of the attacks. The resolution, which was sponsored by the United States and Japan, was approved 11 in favor and zero against, with abstentions by Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique.
Tehran itself also has pursued aggressive action. Earlier Thursday, the Iranian navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman while it was en route to Turkey, the U.S. Navy said. The crew’s status is unknown. Iran now holds five ships and 90 crew members “hostage,” officials said.
Beirut, Lebanon – On Tuesday, representatives from Lebanon and Israel met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC – the first session of a two-day round of negotiations that Lebanese negotiators hope will end an invasion of their country.
The negotiations, which started at 9am local time (13:00 GMT), come as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon pushes deeper than at any point since the year 2000 and as Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade attacks. Israel has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
With the war raging on, what do Lebanon and Israel have to discuss and will the talks lead to an end of the Israeli assault?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What will Israel and Lebanon discuss?
Similar to past meetings, the two sides are ostensibly looking to come to some kind of deal following fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with strong doubts it will be achieved.
Lebanon’s government is still pushing for a total ceasefire. However, as talks started, Israel was striking various parts of southern Lebanon. Lebanon is also trying to get Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory in the south, so that more than 1.2 million displaced people can return home, and so the state can resume finding a way to disarm Hezbollah and rebuild areas devastated by Israeli attacks.
Israel is meanwhile looking to get assurances that Lebanon will disarm Hezbollah, a prospect analysts say Israel knows is complicated by the continuation of its military operations and occupation of swaths of southern Lebanon. Instead, Israel appears to be trying to fuel sectarian tensions inside Lebanon, leading to chaos and internal strife.
What has happened so far?
An initial meeting took place in April between Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the United States. A second round took place in May with a larger delegation on both sides.
On Friday, a meeting took place with Lebanese and Israeli military representatives, while Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, is not involved in the meetings.
Israel claimed the two sides found common ground in that they both wanted to see Hezbollah disarmed. Some Israeli officials suggested there may soon be trade agreements and an exchange of tourists between the two countries. Lebanon, however, said it preferred to find a deal closer to the 1949 armistice agreement between the two countries.
In the last meeting, Beirut reportedly outlined the damage done by Israeli attacks since the 2024 ceasefire agreement and presented detailed maps showing homes destroyed or razed by Israel.
Is there a chance for a ceasefire?
That remains to be seen, but for now, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s military would continue attacking Lebanon.
On Monday, Netanyahu announced that attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs would resume, despite a ceasefire. Apart from two targeted attacks, Israel has not struck the suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, since April.
Iran, which has attempted to include Lebanon in a wider ceasefire between themselves, on one side, and Israel and the US on the other, then intervened by threatening to attack northern Israel.
US President Donald Trump reportedly intervened to stop Israel’s attacks. He announced another ceasefire, after his previous announcement of one between Israel and Lebanon on April 16, after claiming he had gotten the approval of Netanyahu and spoken to Hezbollah.
“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back,” Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social.
But attacks from Israel and Hezbollah are continuing.
How do Lebanese people feel about the talks?
Not everyone is on the same page.
Some Lebanese support the talks and say they are the only option the state, which has little leverage, has. Among those who believe direct talks are the best way forward are Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
“There is no option other than negotiation,” Aoun said in a statement on Tuesday.
Others, however, oppose direct talks. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his allies, Hezbollah, have said indirect talks are preferred and that negotiations cannot be conducted while attacks are ongoing.
How are Iran and the US connected?
Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28, killing the country’s longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is Hezbollah’s primary benefactor, and two days after Khamenei’s assassination, Hezbollah fired six rockets towards Israel on 2 March.
Hezbollah’s response brought a huge response from Israel, who have crossed the Litani River – the supposed buzzer zone in southern Lebanon it had created – towards the Zahrani River.
Despite a 2024 ceasefire, Israel had never stopped attacking Lebanon, while Hezbollah had only responded once in December 2024.
Iran has attempted to include Lebanon in the ceasefire deal it has with the United States and Israel, who say this theatre is not part of the agreement.
Although Trump has now announced a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel twice, the invasion of southern Lebanon continues.
Are there other actors involved?
Gulf states have also intervened. Saudi Arabia has been working behind the scenes to get Lebanon’s leadership – Aoun, Salam and Berri – on the same page. Meanwhile, analysts say Saudi Arabia and Qatar engaged the Trump administration to stop an escalation in Lebanon.
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A contract worker was killed by a falling tree on Monday afternoon in Washington County, officials said.
The Washington County Office of the Coroner said in a news release that the contractor was killed after the tree fell on them around 4 p.m. The worker, who was not immediately identified, was hired to cut down a tree at a residence on Lynn Portal Road in Canton Township, and it fell in an unintended direction, killing the person, the coroner said.
No other information was immediately released on Monday evening. The Greene-Washington Regional Police Department and the coroner are investigating.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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