US Military Says Strikes Against Houthis Have Hit More Than 800 Targets

The strikes started in March.

A Houthi fighter checks damage from strikes attributed by Yemeni media to the United States, in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa, Yemen, April 27, 2025. Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military has struck more than 800 targets in ongoing strikes against Houthi terrorists, U.S. Central Command stated on April 27.

“These strikes have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” it said in a statement.

President Donald Trump on March 15 announced that he had ordered the military to strike the terrorists in Yemen over attacks on ships passing near the country.

“They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” he said at the time.

Trump’s first administration designated the Houthis as a terrorist group. The Biden administration initially removed the designation but redesignated the Houthis as terrorists in 2024.

“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in March.

He also warned Iran at the time that its support for the Houthis must “end IMMEDIATELY” or else America would hold it “fully accountable.”

Yemen’s government has also been battling against the Houthis, who have taken control of portions of Yemen in recent years. Just south of Saudi Arabia, Yemen sits on the Gulf of Aden and has a population of about 39 million.

The Houthis have stated that they attack ships connected to Israel and that the attacks are supportive of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has been carrying out strikes since the 2023 incursion into Israel by Hamas terrorists.

In the new update, U.S. Central Command stated that the U.S. military has carried out “an intense and sustained campaign targeting the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen to restore freedom of navigation and American deterrence.”

It stated that the operations have been underpinned by intelligence that ensures that Houthi terrorists are taken out while minimizing civilian casualties.

Three U.S. senators recently asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for information about the strikes, expressing concern over allegations that the military had rolled back procedures aimed at minimizing the risk of harm to civilians.

The Houthi-controlled Yemen Ministry of Interior stated on April 28 that a U.S. airstrike killed dozens of African migrants, the Yemen News Agency reported.

The U.S. Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do,” U.S. Central Command stated.

“We will continue to increase the pressure and further disintegrate Houthi capabilities as long as they continue to impede freedom of navigation.”

Despite the strikes, the Houthis have continued attacking ships, according to the U.S. military, which also stated that the Houthis have decreased the pace of the attacks and that the effectiveness of the attacks has degraded.

Military officials also say Iran has not stopped providing support to the Houthis and that the military will not stop striking the Houthis until ships can freely navigate the area.