Yemen’s Supreme Political Council has condemned the deadly US aggression against the country in support of Israel, pledging that the nation will punish the criminal regime in a “painful” manner.

It made the announcement on Sunday, a day after the United States carried out large-scale military strikes on the Yemeni capital of Sana’a and the provinces of Sa’ada, Dhamar, Hajjah, and al-Bayda. At least 31 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the aerial and naval attacks ordered by US President Donald Trump.

The council said that targeting civilians proves the US’s failure in confrontation, adding that the aggression will not deter Yemenis from supporting Gaza but will instead escalate tensions.

“The punishment of the aggressors against Yemen will be carried out professionally and painfully, by the will of God,” it warned.

The council also noted that the airstrikes on Yemen mark a return to the militarization of the Red Sea, posing a real threat to international navigation in the region.

The US, along with the Zionist entity, will fail and retreat in disgrace and defeat, just as they did during their genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, it noted.

Meanwhile, the council called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities in the face of the “reckless US-Israeli aggression,” which will have consequences for all.

“Yemen remains committed to supporting and assisting Palestine and that naval operations will continue until the blockade on Gaza is lifted and humanitarian aid is allowed in,” it said.

The aggression came a few days after the Yemeni Armed Forces resumed their maritime operation against Israeli-linked ships in the southern Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea over the Tel Aviv regime’s blockade on Gaza.

In a social media post, Trump claimed that the attack was meant to “protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom.” 

‘US air raids encourage Israel to maintain Gaza siege’

Mohammed Abdul Salam, the spokesperson for the Ansarullah resistance movement, said the US president’s “false” claim misleads international public opinion.

Yemen’s naval campaign, he added, is only limited to Israeli shipping until humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.

“The US airstrikes on Yemen are a blatant aggression against an independent state and an encouragement for the Israeli enemy entity to continue its unjust siege on Gaza,” Abdul Salam said.

Saudi official rejects Riyadh’s complicity in US assault

Some reports said Saudi Arabia had provided the US with logistical support for the strikes on Yemen.

Speaking to al-Arabiya news channel, an unnamed Saudi official rejected the reports as “misleading,” saying the kingdom did not help the US in the aggression.