Amid the rubble of Saturday’s US airstrikes on Yemen, a defiant message emerges from the beleaguered nation and its regional supporters. The US strikes on Yemen, ordered by President Donald Trump, which targeted multiple provinces including the capital Sanaa, have killed 31 civilians according to Houthi authorities. Yet rather than deterring Yemen’s resistance movement, the bombardment appears to have galvanised resolve across the anti-Israel axis in the Middle East.
Yemen’s military response
The Yemeni Armed Forces wasted no time in responding to what they termed “blatant aggression” by American forces.
In an official statement issued on March 16th, they detailed their immediate military response: “The armed forces, with the help of Allah, the Almighty, carried out a high-precision military operation, targeting the American aircraft carrier ‘USS Harry Truman’ and its accompanying warships in the northern Red Sea, using 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.”
The statement revealed that the US strikes on Yemen had been extensive, involving “more than 47 airstrikes targeting multiple areas in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada, Al-Bayda, Hajjah, Dhamar, Marib, and Al-Jawf,” resulting in “dozens of martyrs and wounded in an initial, non-final toll.”
The US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz claimed that the US strikes on Yemen “actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.”
Far from backing down, the Yemeni forces issued a stark warning to American naval assets: “The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target all American warships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea in response to the aggression against our country.”
Moreover, they reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining pressure on Israeli shipping, stating they would “continue to impose the naval siege on the ‘israeli’ enemy and enforce restrictions on its ships in the designated operation zone until humanitarian aid and essential supplies enter the Gaza Strip.”
The statement concluded with a message of defiance: “This American aggression will only increase dear Yemen and its steadfast, faithful, and fighting people in firmness, faith, and steadfastness.”
Political leadership stands firm amid US strikes on Yemen
Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, which governs Houthi-controlled areas, issued a pointed rebuke to the American administration, claiming that “targeting civilians proves US weakness” and affirming that the US strikes on Yemen “will not deter us from supporting Gaza but will instead escalate the situation to something even stronger and more severe.”
The Council sought to reassure Yemenis that “the aggressors will be punished in a professional and painful manner,” while predicting that “the US, along with the zionist entity, will fail and retreat in disgrace and defeat, just as they did during the Al-Aqsa Flood battle.”
Importantly, the Council maintained that “Yemeni naval operations will continue until the siege on Gaza is lifted and humanitarian aid is allowed in,” directly contradicting American claims about restoring free navigation. The statement argued that the “US airstrikes on Yemen mark a return to the militarisation of the Red Sea and pose a real threat to international navigation in the region.”
Hezam Al-Asad, a member of Ansarallah’s political bureau, delivered one of the most pointed messages to the American public, declaring that “the American voter will regret the day they chose the madman ‘Trump’ as President of the United States.” He vowed that Yemen’s “stance in supporting our people in Gaza remains steadfast and is escalating until the siege is lifted. Nothing can affect our principled position in advocating for the injustice faced by the Palestinian people.”
Mohammed Abdul Salam, Ansarallah’s spokesman, refuted the Trump 2.0 administration’s justifications for the US strikes on Yemen, calling them “an open aggression against an independent state” that served “as encouragement for the zionist enemy to persist in its unjust siege on Gaza.” He dismissed Mr Trump’s claims about threats to international navigation as “false and misleading to global public opinion,” clarifying that “the maritime siege announced by Yemen in support of Gaza exclusively targets ‘israeli’ shipping,” with the aim of “ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza.”
Abdul Salam emphasised that “international navigation in the Red Sea remains safe from the Yemeni side,” and argued that “the American airstrikes are an attempt to remilitarise the Red Sea, which in reality poses the true threat to international navigation in the region.”
Palestinian solidarity
The Palestinian resistance has responded with vigorous support for Yemen amid US strikes on it. Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Martyr Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, sent a clear message of solidarity: “We extend our greetings to our brothers in Yemen for their declared stance of continued support and readiness to strike the enemy.”
Abu Obeida contextualised Yemen’s actions within the broader struggle for Palestinian rights, stating that “the Islamic nation will not rise, nor will it hold a significant place among nations, until this sacred land is cleansed of the defilement of the occupiers.” He reminded supporters that “this Arab Muslim people are facing genocide, starvation, and attempts at displacement before your very eyes.”
The Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) issued a strong statement of solidarity, condemning “the brutal American aggression against Yemen” and affirming that “Yemen will remain a thorn in the throat of the aggressors.” The statement emphasised that the US strikes on Yemen represented “an extension of the war crimes and genocide practised by imperialism and zionism against our Arab peoples.”
Expressing “full solidarity with our brothers in Yemen,” the PFLP declared that “the blood of these martyrs will remain a beacon of resilience and resistance, and it will not be in vain; rather, it will strengthen Yemen’s determination to confront aggression.” The organisation warned that “this barbaric aggression will not succeed in breaking the will of the free Yemeni people, who have never hesitated to support Palestine and have embraced the cause of Gaza despite the siege and aggression they themselves face.”
The PFLP statement drew a clear line in the sand: “He who stands with Yemen stands with Palestine and with the Arab right in confronting colonial and hegemonic projects, while he who abandons Yemen today is abandoning Palestine and all the causes of the nation.” It concluded with a call to action, urging “the masses of the nation and the free people of the world to take to the streets in support of Yemen, to reject this brutal aggression, and to emphasise that resistance is the only inevitable choice to thwart the aggressors’ plans.”
Lebanese support
Hezbollah, a key player in Lebanon’s resistance movement and a staunch ally of both Yemen’s Houthis and the Palestinian cause issued a forceful statement condemning “the blatant American-British aggression against dear Yemen, which targeted residential neighbourhoods in the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of innocent civilians.”
The organisation characterised the US strikes on Yemen as “a desperate attempt to deter the steadfast Yemeni people from continuing their heroic support for the Palestinian people and their ongoing pressure to lift the unjust siege on Gaza and allow the entry of humanitarian aid and relief.”
Hezbollah’s statement argued that the “targeting of civilians and vital facilities in Yemen once again reveals the true and ugly face of the American administration, which practices terrorism and bullying against nations that oppose its hegemonic policies in the region and the world.” It described the attack as “a war crime and a blatant violation of international laws and norms” that “aligns with the ‘israeli’ aggression—backed by the United States—against Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the region.”
The statement expressed confidence that “the steadfast Yemeni people, who have sacrificed their martyrs’ blood in epic battles to support the Palestinian cause and stand with besieged Gaza, will not retreat in the face of this cowardly aggression.” Instead, Hezbollah predicted, the Yemeni people “will continue their honourable role in defending the causes of the nation,” adding that “this aggression will only strengthen their determination and steadfastness despite the ongoing oppressive siege.”
Hezbollah concluded by reaffirming “full solidarity with dear and brave Yemen, its leadership, and its people” while calling “on all free nations of the world and all resistance forces in our region and beyond to unite and stand together against the American-zionist project that targets the countries and peoples of our nation.”
Similarly, Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq condemned the US strikes on Yemen, stating that “once again, America proves that it is the official sponsor of crime in the region and the world by targeting dear Yemen, striking its civilian infrastructure, and causing the martyrdom of several civilians.” The group characterised the bombings as “yet another episode in the series of crimes committed by the Axis of Evil against peaceful nations, aimed at imposing its hegemony and destabilising security and stability in the region.”
The Axis of Resistance stands united against US strikes on Yemen
The coordinated messaging from Yemen, Palestine, and Lebanon demonstrates a unified front in what these groups refer to as the “Axis of Resistance” against American and Israeli colonial interests in the region.
Despite the Hamas, Hezbollah and PFLP suffering massive attacks from the Israeli occupation for months, they have still managed to exhibit courage in support of Yemen, which is one of the few Arab states that remained steadfast in supporting Palestine throughout Israel’s attacks on besieged Gaza following the October 7th 2023 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by Hamas.
A video circulating among supporters shows clips from inside “Yemeni resistance tunnels,” interspersed with footage of Palestinian resistance facilities and weaponry.
The video includes declarations from Sayyed Abdulmalik Badr El-Din Al-Houthi, the Houthi leader, stating: “We are confident in the victory of Allah Almighty… The development of our military capabilities is continuing, and the Palestine Missile bears witness to this.” He also warns that “the enemy will not feel safe, even in what they call ‘Tel Aviv.'”
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, appears in the video stating simply: “Gaza is a red line for us, a red line.” The footage includes messages of solidarity from Gaza to Yemen and vice versa, with slogans such as “From Gaza to Sana’a… Resistance until Al-Quds” and “From Al-Quds to Sana’a, legions of fighters defeat the sons of Zion.”
The slogan “Allah is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to ‘israel.’ A curse be upon the Jews. Victory to Islam” appears repeatedly throughout the video, underscoring the ideological underpinnings of the resistance alliance.
A bleak outlook for American intervention
The strong and immediate response from Yemen and its allies suggests that Mr Trump’s strategy of using “overwhelming lethal force” may not yield the desired outcome of ending Houthi attacks on shipping. Instead, the US strikes on Yemen appear to have strengthened the resolve of the resistance axis and possibly expanded the theatre of conflict.
The United Nations, conspicuously absent from the discourse, once again demonstrates its inability—or unwillingness—to curb American military adventurism in the region. As Secretary of State Rubio has indicated that strikes will continue until the Houthis can no longer attack shipping, and the Houthis have vowed to continue their operations until the Gaza siege is lifted, the situation risks evolving into a prolonged conflict with no clear resolution in sight.
For the Yemeni people, already suffering through years of war, famine, and disease, these new attacks represent yet another burden to bear. Yet if the statements from their leadership and their regional allies are any indication, their resistance to American and Israeli interests in the region shows no signs of wavering.
