UK and international response to Houthis in the Red Sea 2024/25

From November 2023 onwards the Houthis in Yemen launched attacks in the Red Sea against commercial and naval ships, causing vessels to be diverted away from the region, hindering world trade and freedom of navigation. The group also began launching direct drone and missile attacks against Israel.

From 11 January to 30 May 2024, the US and UK conducted five joint naval and air strikes against the Houthis in response to their attacks on shipping. The US conducted separate air strikes, with the latest in January 2025. Israel has also targeted Houthi-linked sites in Yemen on separate operations.

The Houthis are one of several Iran-backed armed groups in the Middle East, which also include Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Iraq, who conducted attacks against Israel, Israeli-linked ships, and US forces and military bases since the Hamas assault on Israel on 7 October 2023. 

The 2024 strikes followed warnings by the UK in 2023 that the UK was prepared to use military force to stop the Houthi attacks and a UN Security Council Resolution in January 2024 demanding a halt to them.

Following the announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas in January 2025, the Houthis said they would continue their attacks if Israel does not adhere to it and will only target Israel-linked ships in the meantime.

This research briefing explains who the Houthis are, their 2023-25 attacks, and the state of Yemen’s civil war. It also sets out Israeli actions, UK/US strikes and their legal basis and the wider international response to the conflict, including the status of UN-mediated peace talks for Yemen.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis are a Yemeni armed group, who in 2014 seized control of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, marking the beginning of a multi-sided conflict in Yemen. The Houthis are in conflict with the internationally recognised government of Yemen (the Presidential Leadership Council, PLC), which has been backed militarily by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. The Houthis now control much of northern Yemen and the majority of its population.

The Houthis are one of several armed groups that receive military, financial or other support from Iran. Analysts judge their relationship has become closer in recent years and is a means for Iran to pressurise the US and Israel. The UK and its partners demand Iran cease supplying arms to the Houthis.

In response to the Houthi attacks, on 17 January 2024 the US announced it would designate the Houthis as a specially designated global terrorist group. The Trump administration upgraded the designation to a foreign terrorist organisation in 2025 and told the primary provider of US aid, USAID, to cut off ties with any group whose finance has reached the Houthis. The Houthis are not a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

The United Kingdom, United States and UN Security Council also apply sanctions and arms embargoes against the Houthis, with new UK sanctions announced in January and February 2024. US sanctions in 2024/25 targeted suppliers of arms, including drones, finance and commodities to the group.

Houthi attacks since October 2023

Following the Hamas assault of 7 October 2023, the Houthis said they would seek to support Hamas militarily and launched missile and drone attacks against Israel. In November 2023 the Houthis said they would target Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea in response to Israeli operations in Gaza.

According to the US, the Houthis launched nearly 190 attacks (PDF) against commercial and naval ships from November 2023 to October 2024. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank, estimates that due to ships being diverted, container ship capacity in the Red Sea was 64% lower than expected in October 2024 (compared to 2017 to 2019 levels). The Houthis also launched an increasing number of drone and missile attacks on Israel. In 2024/25 Israel conducted five strikes against the group, the first being in July.

What are the status of Yemen’s peace talks?

Only one nationwide ceasefire has been held in Yemen’s civil war, in 2022. While it was not renewed, high intensity conflict has declined. In 2023 the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said parties to the conflict had committed to a UN roadmap, which include a ceasefire, improvements in living conditions, and to make preparations for talks under UN supervision.  

In December 2024 the Special Envoy told the UN Security Council that the roadmap for negotiations was “still possible” but required “action, compromise and a sincere focus on Yemen”. He said that Houthi attacks and US and UK air strikes had “shrunk the space for my mediation efforts” in 2024 and criticised the lack of protection for civil society groups in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which back non-Houthi groups, have not renewed their attacks against the Houthis or participated in US/UK-led military operations.

Launch of international maritime coalitions

In December 2023 the US announced an international maritime coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian to support freedom of navigation. Over 20 countries, including the UK, are participating, but only one from the Middle East (Bahrain). The UK deployed three ships to the region. In 2024 the European Union also launched a separate defensive naval mission.

International statements on Houthi actions

On 10 January 2024 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2722 (2024) which condemned the Houthi attacks, demanded they stop, affirmed the right to freedom of navigation, and emphasised the arms embargo (PDF) in place against the Houthis. China and Russia abstained and argued the US response risked escalating the Israel-Hamas conflict, where a ceasefire should instead be pursued. UK and US representatives supported the resolution.

UN Security Council members also said Houthi attacks on Israel must end and for Israel to ensure any military operations are conducted in line with international humanitarian law. The US said the council should take further action against the Houthis and that unnamed members are opposed to this.

In 2023/24 two statements were issued by several states calling on the Houthis to halt their actions. In December 2023, 44 states, including the members of NATO and the European Union, “condemned Houthi interference” with freedom of navigation. A further statement was issued by 13 states on 3 January 2024, including the UK, United States, Bahrain, Germany and Japan. It said the countries “are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks” in the Red Sea.

US and UK attacks on Houthi sites in 2024

On 11 January, 22 January, 3 February, 24 February, and 30 May 2024, the UK and US conducted strikes against Houthi sites. The US has conducted separate strikes, which are continuing. Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand provided non-operational support for the US/UK actions. The strikes are separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian.

In January 2024 the UK Government said the strikes were “limited, necessary and proportionate in self-defence”. Speaking in the Commons, then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said the UK acted “in self-defence”, following Houthi attacks on Royal Navy ships, “consistent with the UN charter, and to uphold freedom of navigation”. On 26 February 2024, the Defence Secretary said that the UK had “seen no evidence” that RAF strikes had caused civilian casualties.

In January 2024 Prime Minister Sunak set out four priorities for the UK in the Red Sea: 1) diplomatic effort to support de-escalation 2) enforcing the arms embargo against the Houthis 3) implementing new sanctions 4) continuing to provide aid to Yemen and support a political solution to the conflict.

The United States said its actions in 2024/25 were “defensive” in nature and focused on military targets and used “precision-guided munitions to minimize collateral damage”. Both countries emphasised their aim “remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea”.

What was parliament’s role and response?

The Commons was not sitting when the US/UK strikes occurred on 11 January 2024. It was not recalled, though the Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru argued Parliament should have been consulted. The Prime Minister gave a statement to the Commons on the first sitting day after the strikes, 15 January 2024. He also gave a statement on 23 January and the Commons debated, but did not vote, on the Red Sea on 24 January.

Then Defence Minister, James Heappey, said the government had to act on 11 January “based on the military, strategic and operational requirement” and this informed the operation’s timing. Then Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, also said the government “need[ed] to be able to act” and the parliamentary process “would potentially degrade the quality of the operation itself”.

The Labour Leader, Keir Starmer, backed both sets of strikes to “reinforce maritime security in the Red Sea”. The SNP leader in the Commons, Stephen Flynn, called on the government to avoid “escalation that leads to further regional instability” but backed the actions. Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said the party backed “limited strikes” but called for a Commons vote.

As described in the Commons Library research briefing, Yemen airstrikes: Parliament’s role in approving military action, Parliament has no legally established role or requirement to be consulted. In 2011 the government acknowledged the emergence of a convention that before military action took place the House of Commons would have the opportunity to debate the matter, except in an emergency. As set out in the briefing, the approach to consulting Parliament has, however, been inconsistent.

Update log

30 July 2024: Added information on most recent UK/US strikes and sanctions 

17 January 2025: Added information on Israeli and Houthi actions and sanctions

4 February 2025: Added information on Trump adminstration designation of the Houthis