Terrorists whose disruptions cost global markets nearly $1 trillion in goods while forcing significant increases in shipping and insurance costs was lauded by President Donald Trump on Wednesday for their “bravery.”
The Houthis, who have sparked a civil war in Yemen, have been firing missiles at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began a military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after terrorists’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Houthis say attacks on Israel will continue.
The Trump Administration had continued attacks on the Houthis started by President Joe Biden and, with more intense bombing, eventually squeezed an agreement from the group to leave U.S. shipping interests alone.
The latest bombing campaign as cost the U.S. roughly $750 million in the loss of equipment and military expenditures.
Trump said on Wednesday that he would accept the word of the terrorists. Human rights activists had raised concerns over civilian casualties.
“We had a very good outcome with the Houthis, and we honor their word,” he said. “We dealt with other countries who were their surrogates and we’ll honor all of their words and we’ll see what happens, but I believe that hopefully that’s over with, and they’ll leave the ships alone.
“We hit them very hard. They had a great capacity to withstand punishment. They took tremendous punishment. You could say there’s a lot of bravery there. It was amazing what they took. But we honor their commitment and their word. They gave us their word that they wouldn’t be shooting ships anymore and we honor that.”
On Tuesday, during a press briefing with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said the Houthis said, “Please don’t bomb us anymore and we’re not going to attack your ships.”
The U.S. military has said it has struck more than 1,000 targets during the current operation in Yemen, known as Operation Rough Rider, which started on March 15. The U.S. estimated that the bombing killed “hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders.”
On April 28, a suspected U.S. airstrike hit a migrant center in Yemen, and Houthi TV said 68 people were killed.
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