Operation Prosperity Guardian
Updated: Wikipedia source
Operation Prosperity Guardian was a United States-led military operation by a multinational coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Following the breakout of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthi movement in Yemen launched a series of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, including but not limited to those heading or related to Israel, with the stated purpose of preventing the bombing of Gaza and forcing Israel to let food and medicine into the strip. On 18 December 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the formation of an international maritime security force aimed at ending the blockade and countering threats by Houthi forces against international maritime commerce in the region. The coalition had more than 20 members Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both economically reliant on unhindered commercial shipping in the area, are absent from the listed participants. France, Italy and Spain have also declined to participate. The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Usama Rabia, claimed that "navigation traffic in the Suez Canal was not affected by what is happening in the Red Sea". Nevertheless, on 10 January, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution demanding a cessation of Houthi attacks on merchant vessels. The day of the UNSC resolution, the Houthis launched their largest-ever barrage of 18–24 attack drones and missiles at international ships and warships in the Red Sea. In response, on 12 January 2024, the coalition launched its first airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, to which the Houthis have pledged to retaliate. As of 2 January 2025, the Houthis recorded 931 American and British airstrikes against its sites in Yemen, resulting in 106 deaths and 314 injuries. Since 15 March 2025, attacks in Yemen have intensified during Operation Rough Rider and the United States have conducted over 1,000 airstrikes. On 6 May 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the Houthis had "capitulated" and promised not to attack commercial vessels passing Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. He further declared the US strikes to be over, "effective immediately," as a result of a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis, brokered by Oman. The Houthis agreed to halt attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea but emphasized that the ceasefire did not in "any way, shape, or form" apply to Israel. While Trump framed the truce as the Houthis having "capitulated" and not "want[ing] to fight anymore," while also having shown "a lot of bravery," the Houthis stated that it was in fact the U.S. that "backed down." Administration officials interviewed by the New York Times said that Trump agreed to the cease fire because the airstrikes were not achieving their objectives and the United States failed to achieve air superiority against the Houthis. After the ceasefire was implemented, attacks on commercial shipping resumed. Operation Aspides a "purely defensive" EU military operation has continued to provide limited protection to shipping.