The U.S. and U.K. launched airstrikes on Yemen on Thursday, in a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East amid Israel’s controversial U.S.-backed military operation in Gaza.

The strikes targeted the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, among other areas in the country. HuffPost first reported on Thursday that the Biden administration had made a decision to launch attacks targeting Yemen’s Houthi militia, and that it had informed Congress of its plan.

The administration briefed leaders on Capitol Hill in the afternoon, a U.S. official told HuffPost.

President Joe Biden’s team views the strike as a way to pressure the Houthis to end the campaign against international shipping that they launched over frustration with the situation in Gaza. But many experts ― including national security officials ― are doubtful the move will have that effect, warning that it could instead anger the Houthis further and entangle the U.S. and its allies in a broader conflict.

The airstrikes “will not solve the problem,” and the approach “doesn’t add up to a cohesive strategy,” the U.S. official told HuffPost.

Prior to the strikes, noted Yemen analyst and former United Nations expert Gregory Johnsen wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “A lot of what is happening today reminds me of the build-up to Saudi Arabia going into Yemen to fight the Houthis in 2015. Saudi Arabia thought the air war would last ‘six weeks.’ It is 2024 and the war is still ongoing.”

The prolonged U.S.-backed, Saudi-led campaign against the Houthis involved scores of alleged war crimes, and created a situation seen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Thomas Juneau, a University of Ottawa professor and former Canadian defense official, warned on X that the U.S. move would likely spur significant blowback.

“You have to anticipate for a wide range of Houthi retaliation scenarios, including on U.S. military infrastructure in the Persian Gulf,” Juneau wrote.

Foreign policy watchers and U.S. and allied officials have been deeplyworried about costly and dangerous fighting across the region, citing widespread anger over Israel’s Gaza operation, Western military responses and Israel’s own apparent interest in a larger war.

Observers believe the fighting could spread in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and even pull in Iran, a regional heavyweight that supports the Houthis and a network of other militias.

While the Biden administration has repeatedly said it does not want to see a large-scale conflict, it has not taken tangible steps to alter Israel’s campaign ― which Israel began in order to punish Gaza-based militants, chiefly the Palestinian group Hamas, for an Oct. 7 shock attack ― and it has repeatedly authorized U.S. strikes against Iran-linked targets.

On Wednesday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi warned that his group was ready for a serious fight, saying: “We are comfortable with a direct confrontation with the Americans.”

Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands supported the Thursday strike, Voice of America reported. Many governments close to Washington have been wary of a spiraling battle involving Yemen, and Bahrain was the only Arab state to join a U.S. naval effort to deter Houthi attacks on shipping.

Spokespeople for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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