US intensify attacks against Houthis, but group seems unshakable

Wee weeks ago, US air strikes have hit Hethis targets in Yemen, such as oil refineries, airports and missile places, with US President Donald Trump promising to use “overwhelming force” until government reaches its goal from preventing the group from attacking ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis began a series of attacks on commercial ships in solidarity with Palestinians when Israel went into war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. The group performed more than 100 attacks and sank two vessels. The result: 70% of merchant ships that previously traveled through the Red Sea now make the long route around southern Africa.

The US says the American operation is working. National Security Counselor, Mike Waltz, said several Houthis leaders were killed.

But each round of attacks causes more challenge.

The Houthis is what a veteran observer of Yemen calls the resistance, referring to the belligerent mammal known for his fearless attitude towards predators. Bite by a snake, they get up minutes later and attack the snake.

Although 80 Military Officers Houthis may have been killed, according to analysts, the hierarchy of his military and political leadership seems intact. So there are at least some of your missile launch sites. Since mid -March, the Houthis have launched a dozen ballistic missiles against Israel, as well as drones and missiles on US Navy ships. Although none has caused great damage, the threat remains.

THE CNN On Friday, he reported on Friday that the total cost of the US military operation against Iran-supported Hethis militants in Yemen is approaching $ 1 billion in just under three weeks, according to three people informed about the operation, but the attacks have so far had a limited impact on the destruction of the group’s capabilities.

“We are burning the readiness – ammunition, fuel, time of implementation,” said one officer.

Far from being intimidated, the Houthis threatened to extend their range of targets to the EAU, which support the rival government to the group in the Yemen Civil War. Similarly, Saudi authorities say the country’s air defenses are on maximum alert.

“The dozens of air attacks against Yemen will not prevent Yemen’s Armed Forces from fulfilling their religious, moral and humanitarian duties,” said a spokesman Houthi earlier this week.

There is no doubt that US operation has degrade the group’s abilities. Michael Knights, a senior colleague from the Washington Institute, says he suspects Hethis “lost a lot of drone manufacturing capacity, and there seems to be a more effective interdiction of replenishment shipments coming by sea and via Oman. Thus, militants are not comfortable.”

But the story shows that the hethis have an extraordinarily high tolerance for pain. And the Trump government’s determination to eradicate the threat they represent can ultimately demand an earthly offensive.

“Houthis are used to being at war with a first world army,” says Knights. “They are ideological, but they are also very hard warriors from northern Yemen.”

The Houthis’s ability to survive is helped by an elaborate smuggling network that features missile pieces and other equipment. Last year, hidden between the load of an intercepted ship, aerial structures and artillery rocket fins, small turbojet engines and hydrogen fuel cells were discovered, according to an investigation by the Conflict Armament Research (CAR).

This equipment could allow the Houthis UAVs to carry longer loads and travel for much longer periods. This would “greatly expand the potential threat placed by the Houthis,” Car said.

The Houthis survived several offensive during Ali Abdullah Saleh’s long presidency in Yemen, a Saudi offensive ten years ago, followed by Israeli, British and newer Americans air strikes.

Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst on Yemen in the international crisis group, says that Israel and the Western powers do not have a profound understanding of the Houthis. “His opaque leadership and internal structure created persistent gaps in intelligence.”

Another Yemen expert, Elisabeth Kendall, questions the end of US operation. “The Houthis have been bombarded tens of thousands of times over the past decade and remain firm. So, it is thought that bombing is largely performative: let’s show the world-let’s do it because we can.”

Coerce the hethis, Knights told CNN it is “very, very difficult.”

“They are an extremely aggressive movement. The best way to end them permanently is to knock them down, removing them from the capital, removing them from the Red Sea coast.”

Regional diplomatic sources, as well as analysts, say that, ultimately, only one terrestrial offensive can dislodge the hethis, which currently control the capital Yemeni, Sanaa, its main port, Hodeidah, and much from northern Yemen.

Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst on Yemen in the international crisis group, says the US is wrong by believing that air attacks can compel the Houthis to retreat. “This approach has failed under Biden’s administration and it is unlikely to succeed under Trump’s administration.”

“Their logic is shaped by years of war; they see resilience as a form of strength and are led to prove that they are not easily determined.”

“The only times I’ve seen the Houthis go to the negotiating table or committed to being threatened with the realistic perspective of defeat on the ground: territorial loss, loss of control of populations and loss of access to the Red Sea coast,” said Knights.

This happened briefly in 2017, when forces supported by the United Arab Emirates threatened Hethis access to the Red Sea, critic for revenues and military supplies.

The group may really be enjoying US attacks. They are a “direct response to the Houthis prayers to have a war with the US,” said Farea Al-Muslimi, an Yemeni researcher at Chatham House. The group “wants to drag the US to a larger regional escalation.”

An earthly offensive

Houthis are struggling for the control of Yemen against the internationally recognized government that controls part of the south and is mainly supported by the EAU. The unanswered question is whether the forces loyal to this government can bring the struggle to the Houthis. “They are already trained and equipped,” says Knights. But there are doubts about your unit.

Analysts do not expect the US to put any troops on the ground, as well as a handful of special forces to help direct air strikes. The US may provide [forças iemenitas] “A little logistics and certain key ammunition,” says Knights.

The United Arab Emirates would be “silently solidarity” as they had long provided to the aden -based government, he adds.

The Saudi perspective is less clear. Knights believe that Riade is apprehensive about Houthis retaliation with long -range drones and missiles against its infrastructure. But the US has accelerated the deliveries of antimysis defenses to Saudi Arabia in recent months.

The US will have to say to Riyadh, “We will protect it in the same way as we protect Israel in 2024 from the two rounds of Iranian attacks,” says Knights.

Regional diplomatic sources say the preparations for a land operation that would be launched from the south and east are underway, as well as along the coast. A coordinated offensive could also involve Saudi naval and US naval support in an attempt to resume the Hodeidah port.

“It is still unclear whether such an operation is viable, as the past decade has shown mixed results, successes in some areas and failures in others,” Nagi told CNN .

The connection with Iran

Since the first day, President Donald Trump and other US officials have associated the campaign against Houthis to Iran. Trump said he would blame Iran for “all shots” fired by the rebels and that he would face “terrible” consequences for any attack by the Yemeni militants.

So far it is unclear whether Tehran can simply order the Houthis to stop shooting. Although part of Iran’s axis of resistance, the Houthis maintains considerable autonomy.

Trump continues to warn Iran that will face a massive bombing operation if he does not agree to limit his nuclear programs and ballistic missiles. For the American administration, the Hethis campaign and the “maximum pressure” campaign in Tehran are two sides of the same coin.

Iranians are carefully stepping, offering moral support to their ally in Yemen. Former commander of the guards of the Iranian Revolution, Mohsen Rezaee, greeted “the resistance forces of the barefoot Yemen, which will bring the warship ships to their knees.”

But Iranian leadership does not want to be seen by providing more military support to the Houthis.

The US seem ready to expand its campaign. B-2 bombers and KC-135 refueling aircraft arrived at Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean. This can generate targets in Yemen, but it can also be a signal for Iran.

The next few weeks may be a crucial test of the resilience of the badge.

This content was originally published in US intensify attacks against Houthis, but a group seems unshakable on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil