 U.S. officials say the U.S. and British militaries bond more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis. The military targets included air defense and coastal radar sites, drone and missile storage and launching locations. President Joe Biden says the strikes were meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies will not tolerate the militant group's ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea. Associated Press Reporter Tara Kopp explains that the strikes on the Houthi targets marked the first U.S. military response to what has been a persistent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. What's significant and concerning here is that this is yet another front. The U.S. has been gravely concerned that the conflict between Israel and Hamas will not only spill over into the north and Lebanon, but stretch farther into the south. And the strikes against Yemen have been an option for weeks, but one that the Biden administration has been reluctant to execute because it does open yet another door and further widen this war. The Cupset, the Houthis say they are attacking the commercial ships in protest to Israel's relentless bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. And they say they won't stop until Israel's war campaign stops. However, they have not retaliated since the U.S. and U.K. joint strike, so far, the Houthis have not responded. They issued warnings last night that they would would threaten the ships that engaged in this attack but we have not yet seen an attack to date, either on the ships in the Red Sea, the commercial vessels, or on the U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, Cupset. In the early hours Friday over Yemen, U.S. and U.K. warships and aircraft launched a massive retaliatory strike against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in response to relentless attacks on commercial vessels that have been trying to train to the Red Sea. The U.S. and U.K. warplanes targeted more than 16 locations with 60 different targets. These targets were things like air defense systems and radars and munitions depots. The very things that have enabled the Houthis to create a lot of danger for the commercial vessels that are trying to train to the Red Sea and get through the Suez Canal. These attacks, which have been going on for almost two months at this point, have really significantly affected how commercial trade moves to the area. The Houthis say they are attacking the commercial ships in protest to Israel's relentless bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. And they say they won't stop until Israel's war campaign stops. The Houthis are an Iranian-backed militant group that came into power in Yemen in 2014, overthrowing the government. In the years since, Saudi Arabia has been launching attacks on them in a massive civil war that has left hundreds of thousands of MPM in these starving, hungry, injured. It's just been a devastating civil war there. What's significant and concerning here is that this is yet another front. The US has been gravely concerned that the conflict between Israel and Hamas will not only spill over into the North and Lebanon, but stretch farther into the South. And the strikes against Yemen have been an option for weeks, but one that the Biden administration has been reluctant to execute because it does open yet another door and further widen this war. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer late last month, remains in the hospital and actually gave the order to conduct these strikes from his room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. So far, the Houthis have not responded. They issued warnings last night that they would, that they would threaten the ships that engaged in this attack, but we have not yet seen an attack to date either on the ships in the Red Sea, the commercial vessels, or on the US military bases in Iraq and Syria. And it's quite possible that a response could be, while not coordinated between these different Iranian-backed groups, they could all seize on the opportunity and increase attacks on the US military personnel who are based in Iraq and Syria and the ships are still transiting the Red Sea.