President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. would no longer be bombing Houthi militants in Yemen. The end of the American air campaign, known as Operation Rolling Thunder, reportedly comes after the Houthis approached the U.S. Monday night and requested an end to the fight.
“They said, ‘Please don’t bomb us anymore and we’re not going to attack your ships,’” the president told reporters at a press conference with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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The U.S. has engaged in over 800 airstrikes against Houthi targets in the country since the end of the ceasefire in Gaza in March, when the Yemeni Islamist group resumed attacking shipping passing through the Red Sea with missiles and drones.
The end of American freedom-of-navigation operations in the Red Sea would not signal an end to conflict in the region. Israel carried out a large airstrike on the Houthis on Monday night, retaliating after a Houthi missile penetrated Israeli air defenses and struck close to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Houthi officials denied the president’s statement. “There will be no cancellation of aid operations until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege on the Palestinians is lifted,” said Deif Allah al-Shami, a member of the Houthi’s political bureau.
