On March 15 local time, the United States launched large-scale military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis reported that airstrikes hit areas including the capital, Sanaa, and northern Saada province on the evening of March 15.

On March 16 local time, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that, in the past few hours, US forces had carried out at least 47 airstrikes on Yemen, targeting the capital Sanaa and six other provinces. The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health in Yemen reported that the airstrikes had resulted in 53 deaths and 98 injuries. The Houthis declared that they would respond with "further escalation."

Saree announced that, in retaliation for the US airstrikes on the Houthi forces, the Houthis had launched 18 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as one attack drone, at the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying vessels in the northern Red Sea.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated that all US aircraft carriers and warships would be considered targets for the Houthi forces. He accused the United States of turning the seas into a battlefield, disrupting international maritime routes. He also warned that if the US continued its military operations against the Houthis, they would escalate their retaliatory actions.

On the same day, a US official disclosed that US F-16 and F-18 fighter jets shot down 11 drones launched by the Houthi rebels. The official noted that the drones did not come close to the USS Harry S. Truman.

The Houthis currently control about one-third of Yemen’s territory and seven to eight percent of its population, including the capital Sanaa and the key Red Sea port city of Hudaydah. Their controlled areas extend along two-thirds of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, with strategic influence over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is crucial to global shipping.