According to a report by CCTV News on January 1, 2025, local time on January 1, the Houthi armed group in Yemen issued a statement saying that its air defense forces shot down a US MQ-9 drone that was on a mission in the air over Marib Province, Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on the group's controlled Masirah TV that the drone was shot down by a surface-to-air missile made by the group. This is the second US military drone shot down by the group within 72 hours and the 14th since October 2023.
So far, the US side has not commented on this. The MQ-9 "Reaper" is a reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle that can not only carry out reconnaissance and surveillance missions but also be armed with missiles to strike ground targets.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on December 31, 2024, the website of the September 26th Newspaper, which is controlled by the Houthi armed forces in Yemen, reported on the same day that the US-British coalition forces carried out a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Reports say that 10 of the air strikes targeted an ammunition manufacturing complex in the northern part of Sana'a, while two others hit the Al-Adli military base in the city center. Local residents told reporters that loud explosions were heard in many parts of Sana'a, and thick smoke rose from the Al-Adli military base and the northern part of the city.
According to Masirah TV, which is controlled by the Houthi forces in Yemen, on December 31, 2024, the camp of the Houthi "First Armored Division" in central Sanaa was also hit by several air strikes.
On December 31, 2024, the United States Central Command issued a statement on social media platforms, confirming that the US military had "attacked Houthi command and control facilities and conventional weapons production and storage facilities on December 30 and 31, 2024, including missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles." Additionally, the US military also destroyed "a coastal radar station of the Houthi forces and seven cruise missiles and one-way attack drones in the airspace over the Red Sea."
The US side identified in its statement that these facilities were used by the Houthi armed group in Yemen to "attack US Navy warships and merchant ships in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden". The statement said that in these two operations, the US military suffered no personnel or equipment losses.
According to CCTV News, earlier on the same day, the Houthi armed group in Yemen issued a statement saying that the group had launched two rounds of military operations against Israeli targets. In the first round of operations, the Houthi armed group used the "Palestine-2" type hypersonic ballistic missile to attack Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. In another round of operations, the Houthi armed group used the "Zulfiqar" type ballistic missile to attack a power station in the south of Jerusalem. The Houthi armed group also claimed that on the same day, the group used missiles and drones to strike the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, when the US military was preparing to launch a large-scale air strike on Yemen.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on December 31, 2024, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, warned the Houthi armed group in Yemen on December 30 that if the group continued to attack Israel, it would suffer the same "tragic fate" as the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Hezbollah in Lebanon and the former Syrian regime leaders. Just a few hours after Danon made these remarks, the Houthi armed group launched another attack on Israel in support of Hamas.
Danon said that the Houthi forces might not have noticed the changes that have taken place in the Middle East over the past year. If the group continues to attack Israel, it will repeat the "tragic fate" of those who have "tried to destroy Israel", such as Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
According to him, Israel will not tolerate any new attacks by the Houthi forces, which is Israel's "ultimatum" to the Houthi group. On December 30, 2024, Danon also issued a warning to Iran, stating that Israel has the capability to strike any target in the Middle East, including those within Iran's territory, and Israel will not tolerate attacks on it by "Iranian proxies".
However, just a few hours after Danon made the above remarks, the Israel Defense Forces announced that they had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, and sirens were sounded across the country. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthi "Supreme Revolutionary Committee," responded on social media that the Houthi forces would continue to attack Israel in support of Hamas, which is fighting against the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.
After the new round of the Israel-Palestine conflict broke out in October 2023, the Houthi forces in Yemen launched drone and missile attacks on targets in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, demanding that Israel cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip of Palestine. Since January 12, 2024, the United States and the United Kingdom have repeatedly carried out air strikes on Houthi targets, causing casualties.
