On the night of March 26, 2025, a spokesman for the Yemeni group Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthis, Yahya Saria, made a loud statement. According to him, the movement's forces carried out a large-scale operation, striking American warships in the Red Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, and also attacking military facilities in the Jaffa area in Israel. Saria specified that the operation involved missile forces, unmanned systems, and the Houthis' naval forces, which allegedly successfully hit their targets.

"We attacked enemy ships led by the aircraft carrier Harry Truman, and drones struck Israeli military targets in occupied Jaffa," “he emphasized, adding that the operation lasted several hours and ended with the achievement of the set objectives.

However, official sources in Israel and the US have cast doubt on these claims. On the night Saria spoke of, no air raid sirens were heard in Israel, and the IDF has not reported any attacks from Yemen. It is likely that if strikes were carried out, the Houthi drones or missiles were intercepted in mid-air, possibly over Yemeni territory or in international airspace, before reaching Israeli borders. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also remained silent about the alleged attacks on its fleet in the Red Sea, adding to skepticism about the Houthi claims. Such high-profile announcements have long been part of the group’s information strategy, although the actual results of such operations remain minimal.

The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, regularly claim to have attacked American and Israeli targets, portraying themselves as active participants in an “axis of resistance” against the West and Israel. This rhetoric has intensified since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, when the group declared its support for the Palestinian Hamas movement. Since then, they have repeatedly attempted to attack shipping in the Red Sea and launch rockets into Israel, but most of these attempts have either failed or been thwarted by US-led coalition forces.

Tensions in the region remain high. In March 2025, the US Air Force stepped up strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, responding to their renewed attacks after the January ceasefire in Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, on March 15, the US launched a series of airstrikes on the group’s military facilities in Sanaa and other provinces, which likely provoked the current operation reported by Saria. The Houthis, in turn, promised to resume strikes on Israeli-linked ships if the blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not lifted. Against this backdrop, the movement’s leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, issued a warning that the group would continue its actions against the US and its allies.

The actual effectiveness of the Houthi attacks is questionable among military experts. Since the beginning of the year, US and British forces have carried out more than 900 strikes in Yemen, destroying much of the group’s arsenal, including stockpiles of drones and missiles. Despite this, the Houthis continue to demonstrate resilience, receiving support from Iran, which, according to Reuters, has supplied them with advanced weapons systems. However, even with such reinforcements, their capabilities remain limited: most missiles and drones either fall short of their targets or are shot down by coalition air defense systems, such as the Arrow in Israel or US naval systems in the Red Sea.