Sanaa, March 16 : The death toll has reached 23 after the US attack on several Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, according to media reports. US warplanes targeted multiple Houthi sites in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and the northern province of Saada. The strikes were carried out in retaliation for the Houthi militia's threats to resume attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea, following the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now entered its third week. Initial reports indicated 13 fatalities, but the death toll has since increased to 23, with casualties expected to rise as more details emerge, Al Jazeera reported.The airstrikes come after US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning, declaring that "hell will rain down" in response to Houthi aggression that jeopardises the safety of global shipping lanes. He warned Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks "starting today... Hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before." The Houthis had threatened to target vessels in the Red Sea in retaliation for the blockade on Gaza, heightening tensions in an already volatile region. The Houthi TV reported four airstrikes in the Al-Jarraf residential neighbourhood in northern Sanaa and several other airstrikes on the Shoab residential neighbourhood in eastern Sanaa on Saturday night.

Later in the evening, fresh strikes hit sites in the northern part of the province's namesake central city, Saada, the group's northern main stronghold. No further details were provided. Locals told Xinhua news agency that the strikes in Sanna targeted ammunition and rocket depots near the Houthi-controlled state television station in the Al-Jarraf neighbourhood. The white smoke plume could be seen rising from the neighbourhood, and a series of explosions were triggered following the airstrikes, witnesses added. This is the first military operation conducted by the US military against the Houthi sites since US President Donald Trump assumed power in January and redesigned the group as a "foreign terrorist organisation." Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the "terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defences were to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom."

/IANS