Trump announces deal to end Houthi bombings
Donald Trump said the US will stop bombing Yemen after the Houthi rebels agreed to stop attacking Red Sea ships.
The president said in the Oval Office that the Iran-backed group had 'capitulated' to his demands.
Mr Trump said: 'We had some very good news last night. The Houthis have announced that they are not, or they've announced to us at least, that they don't want to fight any more.
'They just don't want to fight. And we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings. And they have capitulated. But more importantly, we will take their word they say they will not be blowing up ships any more, and that's what the purpose of what we were doing.'
Mr Trump said he had heard the information from a 'very, very good source'.
His words come as Israeli warplanes bombed the airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sana'a on Tuesday, the latest retaliation for a missile strike by the Iran-backed Houthis that targeted Israel's main airport.
Plumes of thick, black smoke were seen billowing from the airport area after a series of strikes shook the impoverished Arab country's capital.
Residents reported power outages in Sana'a and the Houthis-controlled port city of Hodeida, after the Israelis struck three electricity stations in and around the capital, according to the rebels.
Israel's military said it took the airport 'fully' out of action after hitting runways and aircraft. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
A previous Israeli attack on the airport in December killed six people, according to Houthi media.
Mr Trump ordered bombings in Yemen shortly after entering office and has carried out raids with the help of the Royal Airforce.
In recent days it has also joined Israel in retaliatory attacks in response to a ballistic missile hitting the main airport in Israel.
Israel has now launched two volleys of strikes after a Houthi missile penetrated the perimeter of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport for the first time on Sunday, leaving a large crater and wounding six people.
Houthi authorities said that on Monday four people were killed and 35 wounded as Israel's initial reprisal strikes hit a cement factory and targets in Hodeida.
Four people were killed on May 5 after a strike on a cement factory, pictured, and Hodeida - Houthi Media Center/Getty
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said in a statement that its 'fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sana'a, fully disabling the airport'.
'Flight runways, aircraft and infrastructure at the airport were struck.'
Israel targeted the airport because it 'served as a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives', the statement said.
Just before Tuesday's attacks, Israel's military urged Yemeni civilians to 'immediately' evacuate the airport and 'stay away from the area'.
'Failing to evacuate may put you at risk,' military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X in Arabic.
The Houthis promised to hit back.
Supporting Gaza
The 'aggression will not pass without a response and Yemen will not be discouraged from its stance in support of Gaza', the Houthi political bureau said in a statement.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel and shipping in the Red Sea trade route since the start of the war in Gaza October 2023, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
Video footage shows a man and an ambulance near a cement factory that was hit by Israeli air strikes - Shutterstock
Yemen, much of it under Houthi control for more than a decade, has already been under sustained US attack since mid-March, when the US military began near-daily strikes after months of sporadic raids.
The latest exchanges come as regional tensions soar anew over Israel's plan to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip and displace much of the besieged territory's population.
The Houthis blamed Israel and its ally the United States for the latest strikes. While Israel claimed responsibility, US officials have denied any involvement.
'US forces did not participate in the Israeli strikes on Yemen today,' a US defence official told AFP on Tuesday.
As well as the airport and power stations, the latest raids also hit a cement factory in Amran, rebel media said.
'Many bangs'
They may not be the last. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said retaliation 'will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs'.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations' special envoy for Yemen, called the exchange of strikes 'a grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context'.
'I once again urge all stakeholders to exercise the utmost restraint and refrain from escalatory actions that risk inflicting further suffering on civilians,' he posted on X.
Israel says it has targeted Yemen five times since July 2024, with Houthi authorities reporting a total of 29 people killed. Israel's army regularly intercepts missiles from Yemen.
Sana'a's airport, which reopened to international flights in 2022 after a six-year blockade by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, offers a regular service to Jordan on the home-grown Yemenia airline.
Mr Trump's Houthi announcement comes ahead of his trip to the Middle East due to start on Monday.
In his press conference he also said he had a major announcement to make, although did not specify what it would be about.
'It'll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject,' he said.
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?
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30 minutes ago
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ICE raids accelerate, protests spread
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
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Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far'
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far' Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, says he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president (Kevin Dietsch) (Kevin Dietsch/GETTY IMAGESvia AFP) Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on his social media platform X, in a message that was received favorably by the White House. Musk's expression of regret came just days after Trump threatened the tech billionaire with "serious consequences" if he sought to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill. Their blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public since Thursday last week -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress. ADVERTISEMENT Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation. "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be. Trump also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him." But after Musk's expression of regret, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was "appreciative," adding that "no efforts" had been made on a threat by Trump to end some of Musk's government contracts. "The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it," Leavitt said. ADVERTISEMENT According to the New York Times, Musk's message followed a phone call to Trump late on Monday night. Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles had also been working with Musk on how to broker a truce with Trump, the report said. - 'Wish him well' - In his post on Wednesday, Musk did not specify which of his criticisms of Trump had gone "too far." The former allies had seemed to have cut ties amicably about two weeks ago, with Trump giving Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship cracked within days, with Musk describing the spending bill as an "abomination" that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back at Musk's comments in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned. ADVERTISEMENT Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that cutting billions of dollars in subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies would be the "easiest way" to save the US government money. US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion. With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both already appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise." Trump had spoken to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. bur-arp/aha
