Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. and the United Kingdom began a series of airstrikes against the Houthis starting in January 2024. A December report by The International Institute for Strategic Studies said the U.S. and its partners struck the Houthis over 260 times up to that point.

The Iranian-backed rebels, who have targeted Israel and shipping in the Red Sea, said children were among those killed in the strikes ordered by President Trump.

Fighting between the United States and Iran-backed Houthi militants appeared to intensify on Sunday, after the U.S. military killed more than 50 people in Yemen with airstrikes a day prior.