TEHRAN – The United States carried out fresh attacks in the Yemeni capital just hours after an Ansarullah hypersonic missile attack injured Israelis in Tel Aviv. 

Reports indicate a large explosion targeted the capital, Sanaa, accompanied by intensive warplane activity in the skies.

The U.S. attacks came hours after Yemen struck Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub, with a supersonic missile that left 16 people wounded. It was the second attack by Yemen in a matter of few days.

A statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed the targets hit by American forces included a missile storage site and a “command-and-control facility.”

CENTCOM also claimed to have intercepted several Yemeni drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea. 

The Sanaa government has accused the United States of two hostile airstrikes, which targeted the Attan district in an “act of aggression” against civilians. 

U.S. and British forces have been waging regular strikes on Yemen this year in response to Yemeni attacks on Israeli, American and British ships transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Yemeni forces have also conducted attacks deep inside Israel, targeting the port city of Eilat and Tel Aviv in support of Gaza. 

Israeli media was quick to highlight that the occupying regime played no role in the latest U.S. aggression on Yemen. 

Experts point out this may have been an indirect message to Yemen in the hope of avoiding another hypersonic missile being launched from the Arab state in the direction of Tel Aviv. 

Some Israeli analysts have concluded that airstrikes on Yemen will not deter the Sanaa government from its ongoing military support front for Gaza. 

Israeli authorities have confirmed on more than one occasion that the Israeli military is unable to intercept Yemeni hypersonic missiles that have prompted many residents to evacuate their homes in the early hours.

According to the Walla Hebrew site, “Israeli officials must quickly disclose the reasons behind the repeated failures to intercept Yemeni missiles to the Israeli public.”

Following the latest attacks on Yemen, the Sanaa government’s Foreign Minister, Jamal Ahmed Ali Amer, stated, “Any country that supports the Israeli entity in its aggression against Yemen will become complicit and bear the consequences of its decision.”

The Sanaa Minister of Information, Hashim Sharaf al-Din, also said, “It is clear that the Americans have not learned from their mistakes and will continue to reap humiliation at the hands of us Yemenis.”

On February 25, the U.S. and Britain launched six airstrikes on the Attan district. On March 22, the two countries also launched four airstrikes on the same area.

The new aggression on the capital aims to pressure Yemeni forces to cease their operations against Israeli targets. 

However, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirmed on Sunday that “their operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza ends and the siege is lifted.”

Amid the attacks on Yemen, a U.S. warplane was shot down. 

US fighter jet downed

There are disputing viewpoints as to how a U.S. warplane was shot down over the Red Sea. 

According to a statement by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), an American warship “mistakenly shot down” a F/A-18 warplane as it was flying over the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea. 

One of the carrier’s escort ships, “mistakenly fired on and hit” the plane, the statement said.

CENTCOM confirmed that two navy pilots
were forced to eject “over the Red Sea early on December 22 after their F/A-18 was downed in what appears to be a friendly fire incident.” 

The statement noted that the pilots managed to eject and survive, with one of them sustaining injuries. The “apparent case of friendly fire,” is being investigated, CENTCOM added. 

Yemeni officials have indicated there may be more to the story than what the Americans are saying in public, without directly claiming responsibility for shooting down the fighter jet. 

A member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, stated that “the U.S. Central Command will not disclose the truth about the downing of the American warplane.”

He added, “What the United States is doing may be a tactic to prevent further collapse in the morale of its soldiers.”

At the same time, he affirmed that “the terrorist actions against Yemen will not stop support operations for Gaza.”