US Strikes Yemen's Houthis, Kill 31

The first US strikes against Yemen's Houthis since Donald Trump took office killed 31 people, the rebels said on Sunday, with the US president warning "hell will rain down upon" the Iran-backed group if it did not stop attacking shipping.

- Agence France-Presse

SANAA:

The Houthis, who have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, said children were among those killed.

Attacks on Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, Al-Bayda and Radaa, killed at least 31 people and wounded 101, "most of whom were children and women", Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi said.

Footage on Houthi media showed children and a woman among those being treated in a hospital emergency room, including a dazed girl with blackened legs wrapped in bandages.

Trump, in a post on social media, vowed to "use overwhelming lethal force" to end the Houthi attacks, which the rebels say are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.

"To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON'T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!" he said.

The Houthi Ansarullah website slammed what it called Washington's "criminal brutality". US Central Command, which posted videos of fighter jets taking off and a bomb demolishing a compound, said "precision strikes" were launched to "defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation".

"Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation," the Houthi political bureau said.

The rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the "axis of resistance" of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US.

They have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.