Description: US President Donald Trump had stated he ordered USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group to conduct aerial bombings of key Houthi strongholds in Yemen. The reported attacks were mostly focused near Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the northern province of Saada, near the border with Saudi Arabia. The aftermath reports showed that several key individuals within the Houthi’s leadership have been eliminated. Houthi’s spokesperson Nasruddin Amer had stated the US won’t deter the Houthis from guaranteeing the protection of Palestinians in Gaza and that they would continue to work towards continued negotiations between Hamas and Israel. The airstrikes come as a response to Houthi’s threats of resuming with attacks and continued disruption of key trade routes in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Bab al – Mandab Straight and the Gulf of Aden.
Impact: The constant threat of the Israel – Hamas ceasefire breaking down has caused elevated tensions between the US and the Houthis in the Middle East. Iran’s largest organizational proxy would further pressure the US and Israel into continued negotiations with Hamas under the constant conditioning for disruption of key maritime trade routes. The US’ reorientation of security and geopolitical priorities towards the Indo – Pacific has obviously not debilitated operational capabilities in the Middle East, as it remains one of the key regions for expanding geopolitical influence.