Houthi-run media and US sources say the attacks hit the main coastal city of Hodeidah as well as the capital, Sanaa.
The US military has struck a number of cities in Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and the main port city of Hodeidah.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), the military command responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said on Friday that forces from US Central Command “launched strikes on 15 Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled and Iranian-backed areas of Yemen today.”
Four raids targeted Sanaa and seven raids targeted Hodeidah, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV network. Agence France-Presse reporters also reported hearing strong explosions in the two cities.
Al-Masirah TV said that the Hodeidah strikes hit the airport and the Al-Kadhib area, which contains a military base controlled by the Houthis. Footage on social media, verified by Al Jazeera's fact-checking agency, showed large plumes of smoke resulting from the strikes in Hodeidah.
The Houthi media office said that at least one strike hit Dhamar Governorate, and air strikes also occurred in Al-Bayda Governorate, southeast of Sanaa.
“These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for US, coalition, and commercial vessels,” US Central Command said in its X post, adding that the strikes occurred around 1400 GMT.
The Associated Press news agency, citing unnamed US officials, said the strikes targeted Houthi weapons systems, bases and other equipment.
Al-Masirah TV, which did not provide details about damage or casualties, said that the United Kingdom also participated in the attacks.
But the British Ministry of Defense categorically denied any involvement in the strikes, according to an official who spoke to Al Jazeera’s London bureau.
Washington has repeatedly bombed Houthi targets in Yemen since January in response to attacks launched by the group on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis say their strikes, which have disrupted maritime traffic in a globally important waterway, target ships linked to Israel and are intended to signal solidarity with the Palestinians and opposition to Israel's war on Gaza.
Now as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed group, escalates, with Israeli strikes killing about 2,000 people in Lebanon, the Houthis are also demanding that Israel stop its offensive there.
“Yemen will not be deterred”
Israel also hit Yemen with Israeli strikes on Hodeidah last month, killing at least five people, after the group said it targeted Israel's Ben Gurion Airport with a missile.
The latest strikes came a day after the Houthis announced that they had carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv. The Israeli army said it intercepted a “suspicious air target” off central Israel overnight, without providing further details.
The attacks also come just days after the Houthis threatened to “escalate military operations” targeting Israel after they apparently shot down a US military drone flying over Yemen. Just last week, the group claimed responsibility for an attack targeting US warships.
The rebels fired more than a half-dozen ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, and launched two drones at three American ships traveling through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, but all were intercepted by naval destroyers, according to several American officials.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been released publicly.
On Friday, thousands of people took to the streets of Sanaa to express their solidarity with the Palestinians and the Lebanese people amid the intensified attacks launched by Israel.
Houthi official Hashem Sharaf al-Din told Al-Masirah TV, “The aggression against the capital and the Yemeni governorates after… the solidarity marches with Lebanon and Gaza, is a desperate attempt to terrorize our people.”
He added, “Yemen will not be deterred from these attacks and will continue its steadfastness in the face of enemies with all its might.”
