Donald Trump’s United States administration declared a ceasefire in Yemen last week due to burning through expensive munitions while failing to establish air superiority over the Houthis, according to the New York Times.
Citing Washington officials, a report on Monday stated that the Yemeni group shot down numerous American MQ Reaper drones and fired at naval ships in the Red Sea right up until the moment a truce was agreed.
In mid-March, the US president launched Operation Rough Rider, a bombing campaign on Houthi rebels military sites which he had hoped would force the Houthis into submission.
But what had emerged after one month of the campaign was that the Houthis had shot down several American MQ-Reaper drones and continued to fire at vessels in the Red Sea - including an American aircraft carrier.
According to the New York Times, the two $67m F/A-18 Super Hornet jets had in fact accidentally fallen off the US’s flagship aircraft carriers into the sea. Two pilots and a flight deck crew member were wounded in the incidents.
The report stated that Houthi rebels air defenses nearly struck American F16 and F-35 fighter jets, which could have resulted in US casualties.
It added that a month into the offensive, Washington had already burned through $1bn of weapons.
The offensive was originally planned to last up to ten months, and also aimed to target Houthi leaders, the Times reported.
The US military carried out over 1,100 strikes, which it said killed hundreds of Houthi fighters.
But Yemenis suspected that many of the strikes targeted areas with no Houthi presence, killing scores of civilians.
One strike on a migrant detention centre in Saada, northwest of the country, killed 68 African migrants and wounded dozens more.
The ceasefire came about following talks between Steve Witkoff, Washington’s Middle East envoy, and Omani officials, the Times reported.
US Central Command was subsequently sent an order on 5 May to “pause” offensive operations.
Officials said that Trump was ready to move on from the campaign and there was a concern that drawn-out fighting could drain resources away from the Asia-Pacific region.
The offensive used so many precision munitions that there were concerns it may have implications in the event of the US needing to fend off a Chinese invasion attempt in Taiwan.
The year and a half long Red Sea campaign by the Houthi rebels , which involved over 250 attacks on military and commercial ships, resulted in the biggest disruption to global trade since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fearing bombardment, vessels travelling from Europe to Asia avoided the traditional Suez Canal route leading to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Instead, they opted for the lengthier and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. As a result, maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden dropped 70 percent in two years.