Massive strikes on Yemeni Houthi targets from the Ansar Allah movement have cost the administration of US President Donald Trump more than $1 billion, NBC News reports.
This amount includes both the cost of thousands of shells and missiles fired at Yemen, as well as losses due to the loss of seven downed drones and two fighter jets that sank in the Red Sea.
The US military, the television channel indicates, has used more than 2,000 bombs and missiles since mid-March, including 75 Tomahawk cruise missiles; (Tomahawk)
Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Houthis warned that they would shell Israeli territory and prevent ships affiliated with them from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The attacks ceased after a ceasefire was declared in the Palestinian enclave in mid-January 2025, but after the ceasefire failed in early March, the rebels announced that they had resumed attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, and then resumed attempts to attack targets in the Jewish state with missiles.
On March 15, the United States launched massive strikes against Houthi targets, who control about a third of Yemen. The US Central Command said the operation was aimed at protecting US interests and ensuring freedom of navigation. On 6 May, US President Donald Trump said the Houthis had agreed to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea, meaning US forces would no longer be striking rebel targets in Yemen. Shortly after Trump's announcement, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced that the US and the Houthis had agreed to a ceasefire in Yemen brokered by the sultan. He said the agreement implied that the Houthis would refrain from attacking ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, including American ships. The head of the Ansar Allah Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, said the rebels "will not abandon their support for Gaza" and would continue to attack Israeli territory in solidarity with the Palestinians.