SANAA, Yemen

In overnight attacks, Yemen was subjected to “blatant American-British aggression," Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said on Friday, stressing that despite the attacks, the group will continue targeting Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea.

In a statement, the group’s spokesman said: “The Republic of Yemen was subjected to blatant American-British aggression in order to protect Israel and to stop Yemen’s operations in support of Gaza.”

The US and UK committed “foolishness with this treacherous aggression,” he said.

The group’s spokesman stressed that this will not “deter Yemen from supporting Palestine and Gaza.”

The group affirmed that “there is absolutely no justification for this aggression against Yemen, as there was no threat to international navigation in the Red or Arabian Seas.”

Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, said: “The American-British strikes are barbaric, terrorist, and a deliberate and unjustified aggression that reflects a brutal psychology.”

The Houthi leader stressed that “these strikes confirm once again that they (US and UK) are the ones directing the aggression against Gaza just as they are directing it against Yemen.”

He stated that the two countries “protect Israeli terrorism” because they, themselves, represent “terrorism.”

The Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Houthis, reported that US and UK aircraft carried out airstrikes on the Sanaa and Al Hudaydah, Sa’ada, and Dhamar governorates.

The attacks came hours after the leader of Yemen’s Houthi group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, warned that anyone risking military action against his country would "pay the price," stressing that any American aggression "will never go unanswered."

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara