At least 31 killed in Yemen in Trump’s biggest military operation in the Middle East since taking office

U.S. President Donald Trump launched his biggest military operation in the Middle East since taking office in January against Yemen’s Houthis on Saturday, killing at least 31 people at the start of a campaign expected to continue for weeks, according to Reuters.

At least 31 were killed and 101 others injured in the U.S. strikes, mostly women and children, Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry, said in an updated toll on Sunday.

“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement, describing the attacks as a “war crime.”

“They terrified our women and children,” said a witness from the Yemeni capital, adding that the explosions rocked Sanaa like an ‘earthquake’.

Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.

Strikes also targeted Houthi military sites in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taiz, two witnesses in the area said on Sunday.

Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday another strike on a power station in the town of Dahyan in Saada, which led to a power cut.

The U.S. strikes—partly conducted by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier—followed threats from Yemen’s Houthis to resume raids on “Israeli-linked ships” in the Red Sea in response to the occupation’s blockade on the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday’s strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, U.S. officials said that Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach, according to Reuters.

In an apparent sign of U.S. efforts to improve ties with Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to inform him about the U.S. strikes in Yemen, the State Department said.

According to the Russian foreign ministry, Lavrov stressed the need for immediate cessation of the use of force against the Houthis.

“In response to the American representative’s arguments, Sergei Lavrov 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,” the ministry said.