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Mediators announced Tuesday that the United States and Yemen’s Houthis have reached a ceasefire agreement aimed at ensuring “freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea, where the Iran-backed rebels have been attacking ships for months.
This agreement follows President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US would cease attacks against the Houthis in exchange for the rebels halting their harassment of ships, although he did not directly mention recent attacks on Israel.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi stated that recent discussions and contacts aimed at de-escalation had resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides, where neither would target the other, thus securing the free flow of international commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
At the White House, Trump claimed the rebels had “capitulated” after a seven-week US bombing campaign that reportedly caused 300 Houthi deaths.
While the rebels’ political leader, Mahdi al-Mashat, did not comment on the ceasefire, he vowed a “painful” response to deadly Israeli strikes carried out in retaliation for missile fire at Israel’s main airport.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam told their Al-Masirah television that any renewed US action would trigger a response, emphasising that the US’s “dark experience” in Yemen served as the real guarantee for the accord.
Mashat also asserted that attacks on Israel “will continue” and escalate beyond Israel’s capacity to withstand.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since late 2023, stating these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians amidst the ongoing Gaza conflict.
They had previously paused attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza. However, in March, threats to resume attacks due to Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza prompted a US military response involving near-daily air strikes.
Trump stated that the Houthis had announced their desire to cease fighting, and the US would honour this by stopping bombings, claiming the rebels had “capitulated” and agreed to stop attacking ships, which was the US’s objective.
The Pentagon reported last week that US strikes had hit over 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March.
Trump’s announcement came shortly after Israeli warplanes struck the airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, killing three people, according to the Houthis. The Sanaa airport director announced the suspension of all flights indefinitely due to “severe damage” from the Israeli strikes.
Israel’s military stated its fighter jets had struck and dismantled Huthi “terrorist infrastructure” at Sanaa’s main airport, “fully disabling” it. These strikes followed a Houthi missile that landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Sunday.
Residents of Sanaa reported power outages after Israeli strikes also hit three electricity stations in and around the capital. The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, described the attacks in Yemen and Israel as a “grave escalation.”
Israel has reported targeting Yemen five times since July 2024, with Houthi authorities citing a total of 29 deaths. Israel’s military frequently intercepts missiles launched from Yemen.
Sanaa airport had reopened to international flights in 2022 after a six-year blockade by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, offering regular service to Jordan via Yemenia, the national airline.
