Houthi Forces Target U.S. Warships as Mass Pro-Gaza Marches Sweep Yemen
Ansar Allah resumes weekly demonstrations and escalates military operations in response to U.S. airstrikes, vowing unwavering support for Gaza amid rising civilian casualties in Yemen.
Watan-The Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) resumed its weekly pro-Gaza demonstrations on Friday, coinciding with an announcement that it had carried out a new military operation targeting “hostile warships” in the northern Red Sea, including the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, using several cruise missiles and drones.
The military spokesperson for the movement, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, stated that this came “in response to the American aggression against our country and as retaliation for its crimes against our people.”
He affirmed that “despite the continued defensive operations, the enemy has failed to impact Yemen’s military capabilities, and by God’s will, the defensive duties will continue on land and at sea.”
Yemenis Rally in Mass Marches to Support Gaza and Defy U.S. Strikes
He praised the demonstrations in Yemen as “a reaffirmation of the rejection of American aggression, a call to confront it as a religious, moral, and humanitarian duty in support of the oppressed Palestinian people.”
In the same context, Ansar Allah resumed, starting Friday, the organization of weekly marches in the main squares across the provinces under its control, in support of Gaza and in rejection of what it described as “American aggression against Yemen.”
According to the Houthi-run SABA News Agency, the capital Sanaa witnessed a million-person march today under the slogan: “Jihad, steadfastness, and heroism… We will not abandon Gaza,” affirming Yemen’s ongoing support for Gaza in the face of U.S. aggression and escalation.
The agency noted that the crowds pledged to continue mass marches in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people, out of a “religious, humanitarian, and moral responsibility,” until the aggression ends and the siege on Gaza is lifted.
Yemeni Protesters Vow Solidarity with Gaza and Resistance to U.S. Escalation
Protesters in Sanaa’s Al-Sabeen Square waved Yemeni and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans defying U.S. escalation and reaffirming their continued solidarity with Gaza and steadfast support for the Palestinian cause.
Provinces such as Hudaydah, Amran, Hajjah, Saada, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Al Bayda, Ibb, Taiz, Marib, Al-Jawf, and others—fully or partially under Houthi control—also witnessed marches supporting Gaza and rejecting U.S. escalation in Yemen.
The statement from the protests addressed the people of Gaza:“We say again: you are not alone and you will not be alone. God is with you, and we are with you. Those who are with God cannot be defeated. We affirm that the U.S. aggression against us, aiming to prevent our support for you, will not deter us—just as it has failed during the past long years of war, with hundreds of thousands of airstrikes. It will not deter us now, even if it launches more.”
To Washington, the statement said:“Your aggression has failed—both in Gaza and in Yemen. In Gaza, you haven’t retrieved a single hostage or defeated the resistance. In Yemen, you haven’t stopped a single operation or passed a single ship. This is not because your weapons are weak or ours are stronger—it is because we are on the side of truth and you are on the side of falsehood.”
14 Martyrs
Regarding casualties from the recent escalation, the Ministry of Health in the Ansar Allah-led government announced Friday that “the number of victims from the American aggression on the Amin Maqbil residential city in Al-Hawk district, Al-Hudaydah province, has risen to 29 martyrs and injured.” The ministry confirmed that “14 civilians were killed, including six women and four children, and 15 others were wounded.”
American warplanes had launched a series of airstrikes on Tuesday evening on the Amin Maqbil residential area, causing major damage to homes and civilian property.
13 Airstrikes
On Friday morning, U.S. warplanes launched 13 airstrikes on the capital district and Sana’a province.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the operational area alongside the USS Harry S. Truman. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday evening, CENTCOM said:“The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, with its F-35C Lightning II air wing, is now operating side-by-side with the USS Harry S. Truman in CENTCOM’s area of responsibility.”
According to USNI News, affiliated with the U.S. Naval Institute, the Carl Vinson carrier strike group was ordered to CENTCOM’s area, and the Truman group—already deployed there—had its deployment extended by a month. The two groups are expected to overlap in CENTCOM’s area amid ongoing U.S. strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen.
According to the Ministry of Health in Sanaa, the number of civilian casualties from the U.S. escalation in Yemen—which is now in its fourth week—has reached 115 dead and more than 200 wounded.
