British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday defended last week’s airstrikes on targets linked to Yemen’s Houthi group, saying they were “proportionate” and in “self-defense.”
In a statement in parliament, Sunak recalled the Iran-backed group’s recent targeting of commercial shipping in the Red Sea, saying they also carried out attacks against British and American warships.
“They fired on our ships and our sailors. It was the biggest attack on the Royal Navy for decades, and so we acted,” he noted.
His statement was the first since last week’s strikes were carried out following criticism that parliament was not consulted beforehand.
Defending the strikes, Sunak said they were carried out along with the US with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands in “self-defense consistent with the UN Charter.”
“I want to be clear that these were limited strikes. They were carefully targeted at launch sites for drones and ballistic missiles…I can tell the House today that our initial assessment is that all 13 planned targets were destroyed.”
“We have seen no evidence thus far of civilian causalities, which we took great care to avoid.”
He reiterated that it was “limited, not escalatory,” and claimed that it was a “necessary and proportionate response to a direct threat to UK vessels and therefore to the UK itself.”
Sunak said the Royal Navy is in the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a US-led military operation by a multinational coalition formed last month in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Rejecting Houthi statements that the targeting of ships is only in connection with Israel’s war on Gaza, Sunak said the group targets ships from around the world.
“We should not fall for the Houthis’ malign narrative that this is about Israel and Gaza –they target ships from around the world. We continue to work towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and to get more aid to civilians. We also continue to support a negotiated settlement in Yemen’s civil war, but I want to be very clear that this action is completely unrelated to those issues. It is a direct response to the Houthis’ attacks on international shipping. We should also recognize the risks of inaction,” he said, adding the threats to shipping must end and detained vessels and crews must be released.
– ‘Scrutiny is not the enemy of strategy’
Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, backed the government’s action against the Houthi group and condemned the targeting of commercial ships.
“The Houthi attacks are unacceptable, illegal, and if left unaddressed, could lead to a devastating rise in the cost of essential food in some of the poorest countries,” he said.
However, he said that “scrutiny is not the enemy of strategy,” adding these strikes still do bring risk.
Starmer also touched on the situation in the Palestinian territories, including the occupied West Bank, stressing that “settler violence must stop immediately.”
“And in Gaza, we need a humanitarian truce now, not as a short pause…The need for a sustainable cease-fire is clear to stop the killing of innocent civilians, to create the space for the return of all the hostages and to provide urgent humanitarian relief.”
“The hope of the two-state solution is fragile, but it is still there. And we must fight for it,” he added.
The Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the best way to stop Houthi attacks is for a cease-fire to be called in the Gaza Strip, asking Sunak “what comes next?”
“How far is he willing to go in relation to military action? Because we cannot have an escalation which leads to further regional instability,” he noted.
Sunak replied that they would not hesitate to “protect our security and our interests where required,” adding: “I obviously won’t speculate on future action.”
The rebel group announced Friday that US and British forces launched 73 strikes on Yemen, killing five of their fighters.
On Saturday, the US renewed airstrikes in the capital Sanaa, one day after attacks were carried out by Washington and London against targets in areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen.
After the attacks on Friday, which resulted in five deaths and six injuries among the Houthis, the group said that all American and British interests have become “legitimate targets” for its forces in response to their “direct and declared aggression” against Yemen.
The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with Gaza, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7.