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President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. would stop airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen because the terrorists said they don’t want to fight anymore.
Mr. Trump said the Houthis had reached out to surrender. When asked how the terrorists contacted the White House, he declined to say.
“They don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word that they will not be blowing up ships anymore,” Mr. Trump said during a White House meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately,” the president said without elaborating.
“I think that’s very positive,” Mr. Trump said. “They were knocking out a lot of ships.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s military launched airstrikes against the Houthis that it said fully disabled the international airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Israel’s attacks were its second round of airstrikes on targets in Yemen in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike Sunday on Israel’s international airport.
A U.S. official said the administration did not notify Israel of the agreement with the Houthis before Mr. Trump announced it.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic talks, said Israel was irked by the unexpected news, particularly because the Houthis have continued to launch attacks on Israel and other Israeli targets.
Israel does not appear to be covered by the U.S.-Houthi agreement.
Appearing before reporters later Tuesday, this time for the swearing-in of senior adviser and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump was asked about the possibility that the Houthis would continue to attack Israel. He responded, “I don’t know about that, frankly.”
“But I know one thing, they want nothing to do with us,” Mr. Trump said. “And they’ve let that be known through all of their surrogates and very strongly.”
Asked how the Houthis had communicated their wish for U.S. bombings to stop, Mr. Trump offered few details. With a chuckle, he said the information came from a “very good source.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi confirmed that the U.S. bombing campaign was ending. He posted on X that discussions involving the U.S., Oman and negotiators in Yemen “have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides.”
“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” he wrote. He called the agreement a “welcome outcome.”
In a statement, the Houthis said their position toward the Gaza Strip hadn’t changed and their “initial understanding” with the U.S. would not impact their support for the Palestinians. It wasn’t clear in the statement whether they were on board with the agreement with the U.S.
Another U.S. official said the costs of the U.S. munitions used against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen in daily attacks since March 15 had totaled more than $750 million. The Trump administration has dropped more than 2,000 munitions on more than 1,000 targets, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the strikes.
The total is a small fraction of the total costs of the operation. It doesn’t account for the costs of operating two aircraft carriers, their accompanying warships or the flight hours of the aircraft.
It also doesn’t include the Houthis destroying seven U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones, at a cost of more than $30 million apiece, or the loss of an F/A-18 fighter jet and tug from the carrier USS Harry S. Truman when it maneuvered to avoid a Houthi missile and the jet fell off the carrier.
Despite Mr. Trump’s framing of the deal as a way to reopen the Red Sea to commercial shipping without fear of Houthi attack, “the Houthis have not fired on a commercial ship since December,” Gregory Brew, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group risk analysis firm, said on X.
“They are likely, however, to continue shooting at Israel,” Mr. Brew noted.
The Houthis had been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership described as an effort to end Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis began firing drones and missiles toward Israel in 2023 in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, which killed roughly 1,200 Israelis. About a month later, the Houthis hijacked commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Although the Houthis insisted they were attacking ships connected with Israel, many of the vessels had no connection to Israel.
Since then, they have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on commercial ships, sinking two vessels, seizing a third and killing four crew members. The U.S. Navy thwarted several planned attacks.
President Biden began bombing Houthi targets in Yemen in January 2024. Mr. Trump continued the strikes and blasted his predecessor for not doing enough to stop the terrorists.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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