TEHRAN- The bombing of Yemen carefully played out attempts to distract the world’s attention from the genocide evidence brought against Israel in Gaza at the Hague. 

The official spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces with the Ansarallah government in Sana'a warned on Friday that the American-British "aggression against our country would not go without response and punishment," confirming the U.S. and UK militaries have launched "73 brutal raids against the Republic of Yemen". 

In a televised address, Yahya Sare'e also vowed that Yemen "will not hesitate to target the sources of the hostile threat on land and at sea," while at the same time underlining "the continuation of the ban on Zionist navigation in the Red and Arabian seas". 

He noted the "American-British enemy" waged the attacks "under the context of their support for the ongoing Israeli crimes in Gaza". 

If Washington and London had wanted to end the Yemeni military operations against Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, they could have pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza. Experts have been quick to point out that the joint United States and Britain’s attack on Yemen was a carefully played-out attempt to distract the world from the war on Gaza, particularly the case of the Israeli genocide in the enclave being heard at the Hague. 

Over the past month, Ansarullah has been targeting Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea and repeatedly said it will continue to do so if Israel’s indiscriminate war and its siege on Gaza do not come to an end. 

If Washington and London had wanted to end the Yemeni military operations against Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, they could have pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Yet, they chose to run the risk of expanding the scope of war instead of reining in the Zionist regime. Interestingly, London and Washington have recently been warning of war expansion; they even asked for Iran’s help in this regard. The Friday aggression, however, will likely lead to the scope of war expanding way beyond the borders of Palestine. 

At any rate, the Israeli regime will be thankful to the Americans and the British for taking global attention and headlines away from the war crimes it has committed in Gaza? are being presented on full display at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

It is important to highlight that the attacks on Yemen came on the same day that the world saw harrowing evidence of Israeli genocidal intent against the civilian population of Gaza filed against Israel by South Africa at the ICJ. 

The Associated Press earlier reported that U.S. and British militaries attacked Yemen in what the news agency described as a "massive" bombardment. Ansarullah says the strikes killed at least five people and wounded six others. 

America and Britain went ahead with the bombardment without consulting the United Nations for approval or Congress in Washington and the Parliament in London. 

Commenting on the bombings Abdul Qader al-Mortada, an official with Yemen’s Ansarullah government, said, "American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen launched raids on the capital, Sana'a, Hodeidah governorate, Saada, Dhamar and Taiz. 
American and British war planes and navy destroyers reportedly fired Tomahawk cruise missiles, while other reports cited officials as saying that submarines were also used.  

There have been widespread reports by Saudi media that "many" British and American jets had entered Yemeni airspace. 

Nasraldeen Amer, the vice president of the Ansarullah media authority in Sana'a, hit out at what he called "a brutal aggression against our country" by America. 

"They will pay absolutely and without hesitation, and we will not back down from our position in supporting the Palestinian people, whatever the cost," he said. 

Yemeni Major General Abdulsalam Jahaf echoed those words on social media, saying, "America, Britain and the Israeli regime are launching raids. We will discipline them, God willing." 

Jahaf, who is a member of the Sana'a government's Security Council, stressed the aggression would not distract Yemen's aims of supporting Gaza "no matter what the costs are". 

"Do the Americans, the British, and the Zionists expect that any hostile action against Yemen will distract us from defending Gaza?" 

Following the strikes, in another post on social media, Jahaf warned, "We will confront America, kneel it down, and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who cooperates with it, no matter what the cost." 

"We have longed to confront America for more than 20 years," Major General Abdulsalam Jahaf noted.

"This is the holy war, and this is the decisive historical stage with which God honored us to humiliate America, Britain and the Israeli regime." 

Sana'a is Yemen's capital and largest city, while Hodeidah is home to the country's main port on the Red Sea.  

Confirming the attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement in which he said, "Last week, together with 13 allies and partners, we issued an unequivocal warning that (Ansarullah) would bear the consequences if their attacks (on Israeli affiliated ships) did not cease." 

In anticipation of the aggression on Yemen, the leader of Ansarullah, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, delivered a televised speech on Thursday. 

An excerpt of which said: 

"We will not hesitate, God Willing, to do everything we can. And we will confront the American aggression. Any American aggression will never remain without a response. And the response will not be at the level of the recent operation that targets Americans at sea with more than 24 drones and several missiles. The response will be greater than that, and more than that. 
         
And with that, we are more determined to continue and target ships linked to the Israeli regime, and we will not back down from that, and our position stems from our faith. The Americans should know what that means. 

We say to all countries, to Asian countries like China and others, and we say to European countries in the West, we say to everyone in the world: There is no problem for you to traverse and pass through the Red Sea. 

The only targets are exclusively ships linked to the Israeli regime." 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chipped in the UK attacking Yemen "alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain". 

REACTIONS TO THE ATTACK ON YEMEN

GAZA 

Condemning the strikes, Hamas said in a statement that the U.S. and the UK will bear responsibility for their attack’s impacts on the security of the region. 

The second largest Palestinian resistance faction in the enclave, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, called on "the people of the Arab and Islamic nations to take action in rejection of the aggression against Yemen, which has risen up in defense of Gaza and the holy places of Muslims in Palestine." 

TURKEY 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the attacks, saying Britain and America were trying to turn the Red Sea into a "sea of blood" and that the strikes against Ansarullah in Yemen were not proportionate. 

Turkey’s president has been cited as saying that Ansarullah is mounting a "successful defense and response against the U.S." 

RUSSIA 

Russia’s foreign ministry has criticized the military strikes, saying, "The U.S. air strikes on Yemen are another example of the Anglo-Saxons' perversion of UN Security Council resolutions" and showed "complete disregard for international law". 

A ministry spokesperson noted that Russia had called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council "where our principled assessment of these illegal actions will be voiced". 

Zakharova said the strikes showed a "complete disregard for international law" and were "escalating the situation in the region". Russia also called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss the issue. 

HEZBOLLAH 

Hezbollah lashed out at the U.S., affirming that Washington "covers up the Zionist entity’s aggression and criminality as it attacks everyone who stands by the oppressed people of Palestine across the region." 

“As we salute the Yemeni nation, we affirm that this aggression won’t weaken the noble people and army of Yemen, but will rather make them more determined to confront the offensive and continue the path of breaking the siege on Gaza and supporting the Palestinian people and their rightful cause," a statement by the Lebanese resistance read. 

IRAQ 

The official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported Fadi al-Shammari, a key adviser to Iraq’s Prime Minister, warning the West against expanding the war on Gaza and increasing tensions in the region.
In a statement, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry also said, "We condemn the attack on Yemen and expanding the scope of targeting does not represent a solution." 

The Popular Mobilization Units, which has been staging operations against U.S. and Israeli bases said, "The interests of America and the coalition countries will not be safe after today, and we will be on the lookout for them with our brothers in Ansarallah." 

OMAN 

"It is impossible not to denounce that an allied country resorted to this military action, while meanwhile, (the Israeli regime) is continuing to exceed all bounds in its bombardment, brutal war and siege on Gaza without any consequence,” Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

JORDAN 

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, "The Israeli aggression on Gaza and its continued committing of war crimes against the Palestinian people and violating international law with impunity are responsible for the rising tensions witnessed in the region." 

The Israeli regime was pushing the region towards more conflict "by continuing its aggression and its attempt to open new fronts," he added. 

CHINA 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "We do not want to witness an escalation of tension in the Red Sea region because this negatively affects global trade". 

SAUDI ARABIA 

Saudi Arabia says it is monitoring the situation with "great concern". The kingdom’s foreign ministry told Reuters it is calling for restraint and "avoiding escalation". 

WHAT NEXT? 

Questions will now be raised about the timing of the attacks. Was it a coincidence that America and Britain chose the same day as devastating evidence against the Israeli regime's crimes in Gaza was being presented at the Haque in full view of the world? 
Has Washington and London been successful in shifting global headlines away from the Israeli atrocities being committed against civilians in Gaza? 

Other major questions that will be posed are the issues of escalation and legality. 

The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed it does not seek to escalate the Israeli war on Gaza to the wider region. 

By striking Yemen, which survived eight years of U.S.-backed war, with a "massive" bombardment, instead of opting for a diplomatic route, how does the White House believe this will not escalate the conflict? 

Experts point out that the unlawful attacks have not degraded Ansarullah's military strength, which has vowed to retaliate. 

A million-man march has taken place in the Yemeni capital in support of Ansarullah with the crowd chanting for retaliation. 

An escalation will more than likely unfold from Yemen, which will judge whether Biden took the correct path.