Yemen’s Houthis reject US offer for mutual cessation of attacks

Yemen’s Houthi group has refused an offer made by the United States to halt attacks against US warships in the Red Sea in return for America halting its air strikes in Yemen, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported, citing informed Yemeni sources.

The paper said the offer was conveyed through diplomatic channels in the region. The US has in recent weeks expanded its attacks against Yemen, including the western coastal city of Hudaydah.

The Yemeni Ministry of Health said the US strikes killed at least 53 people, including five women and two children, and injured about 100 in the capital, Sana’a, and other governorates, including the northern Saada governorate, a Houthi stronghold.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi announced that his fighters would attack US ships in the Red Sea as long as the United States continues its attacks on Yemen.

“If they continue their aggression, we will continue the escalation,” he said in a televised speech.

The Houthis have been targeting Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding regions, in support of Palestinians in Gaza where Israel is carrying out a genocide.

The United States and its allies have repeatedly condemned the attacks and launched retaliatory strikes against what they claim are Houthi positions in Yemen.

READ: US launches 6 air strikes in Yemen, Houthis say