West Struggles to Deter Rebels in Yemen

Houthis press attacks on global shipping and Israel despite a barrage of strikes

- By Carrie Keller-Lynn, Benoit Faucon and Saleh al-Batati

Despite hundreds of American and allied strikes and the deployment of a U.S. Navy flotilla to the Red Sea, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on commercial shipping passing through the vital waterway and have continued to lob missiles at Israel.

Other Iranian-backed groups, from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the now-deposed regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, have stopped fighting, at least for now.

Yet the Houthis, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, continue to disrupt global trade, causing billions of dollars in losses and forcing shippers to reroute cargo or run a gantlet of missiles and drones.

They say they won't stop until Israel halts fighting in Gaza.

A U.S.-led coalition has destroyed about 450 Houthi drones, said a U.S. defense official. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the coalition has suppressed some antiship missile attacks, and is using diplomatic pressure and sanctions to stop the group's illicit procurement of weapons.

Still, Red Sea trade routes remain paralyzed. Two Houthi missile strikes slipped through Israel's air defenses last week.

The U.S. military hit Houthi command centers and weapons caches Saturday in response.