The U.S. military has conducted strikes against Houthi militia targets in Yemen daily since March 15, but the Pentagon has not provided details about the attacks since March 17, when it said more than 30 Houthi targets had been hit on the first day, according to New York Times..
The strikes in Yemen are at the center of a debacle involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior members of the Trump administration, who discussed sensitive details about the planned mission in a group chat on a messaging app before it began.
On Monday, the editor in chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote that he had been inadvertently included in the chat, the details of which could have endangered the lives of American fighter pilots.
President Trump said that he was ultimately not concerned about the leak, insisting that “there was no harm done, because the attack was unbelievably successful.”
But few details have been released. A Central Command spokesman said this week that the strikes had “destroyed command-and-controlled facilities, air defense systems, weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapons storage locations.”
“While the Houthis still maintain capability, it is largely because of the nearly 10 years of support provided by Iran,” the spokesman said.
The air and naval strikes are intended to pressure the Houthis, whose attacks have disrupted international shipping lanes in the Red Sea for more than a year.
The United States began the new offensive on March 15 in parts of northern Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels. Navy attack planes, off the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, and Air Force fighter jets, flying from bases in the Middle East, have conducted strikes against Houthi rebels targets each day since.
Mr. Trump has delegated the authority to strike targets to regional and local commanders, allowing them to attack Houthi sites more quickly and efficiently, commanders say.