The US has launched a “decisive and powerful” wave of air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, President Donald Trump has said, citing the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea as the reason.

“Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies,” Trump said on social media, adding that their “piracy, violence, and terrorism” had cost “billions” and put lives at risk.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least 31 people were killed and 101 others were injured in the strikes.

The group later said it would continue to target Red Sea shipping until Israel lifted its blockade of Gaza, and that its forces would respond to the strikes.

The Houthis reported a series of explosions on Saturday evening in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and in the northern province of Saada – the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian-backed rebel group, which considers Israel its enemy, controls Sanaa and the north-west of Yemen, but it is not the country’s internationally-recognised government.

Unverified images show plumes of black smoke over the area of Sanaa’s airport – which includes a military facility.

In a statement, the Houthis blamed the US and the UK for “wicked” aggression targeting residential areas in Sanaa.

The UK did not participate in Saturday’s US strikes against the Houthi targets but it did provide routine refuelling support for the US.

The Houthis have said they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed – often falsely – that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members.

These attacks, Trump said, “will not be tolerated”.

He added: “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”

The Houthis have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels, or by multiple rounds of US and British air strikes on its military targets.

Israel has also carried out air strikes against the Houthis since July, in retaliation to the 400 missiles and drones that the Israeli military said had been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which were shot down.

Major shipping companies have been forced to stop using the Red Sea – through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes – and use a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

Trump said that it had been more than a year since a US-flagged ship had sailed safely through the Suez Canal – which the Red Sea leads to – and four months since a US warship had been through the body of water between east Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

The Suez Canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe, and is particularly important in the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Addressing the Houthis directly, Trump wrote that if they did not stop, “HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE”.

But the Houthis were unwavering in their response, saying the aggression would not diminish their support for Palestinians.

“This aggression will not go without response and our Yemeni armed forces are ready to answer escalation with further escalation,” the group said.

Trump urged Iran to cease its support for the Houthis, warning that Washington would hold Tehran “fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it”.

He also accused the previous White House administration, under Joe Biden, of being “pathetically weak” and allowing the “unrestrained Houthis” to keep going.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy”.

“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism,” he posted on X on Sunday. “Stop killing of Yemeni people.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed military deterrence operations against the Houthis when he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday.

Rubio emphasised that “continued Houthi attacks on US military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated”, a State Department spokesperson said.

Lavrov, for his part, stressed the need for “an immediate cessation of the use of force” and the “importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue in order to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed”, said the Russian foreign ministry.