The US bombing campaign on Yemen has been by far and away Donald Trump’s most active military engagement since he took office just over four months ago.
And it’s an extraordinarily underreported one, given the president has a reputation for being averse to military action.
The US military has carried out more than 800 strikes against Houthi targets since Trump returned to the White House at the beginning of the year. That’s an average of 50 a week.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups have been positioned in the region to assist this – a significant deployment that also serves the double purpose as a warning to Iran.
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The Houthis have launched missiles and drones against two targets in support of Palestinians in Gaza: Red Sea shipping and Israel.
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The former has cost billions of dollars to global commerce, and that is what has motivated America and Britain to take action.
Trump’s announcement – that the US will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen and the Iran-backed group does not want to fight anymore – represents a genuine success for the US president.
It’s also a considerable boon for Oman, which played a decisive role behind the scenes, mediating between the sides to reach this agreement.
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The Houthis, often lazily dismissed as a ragtag group, are particularly resilient and didn’t yield to a years-long bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia which was backed by Washington and London.
But where does this development leave Israel, which has greatly benefited from US and UK strikes against one of its regional enemies and allowed it to focus on Gaza, Lebanon and Syria?
Only last week, I was woken around 6.30am by air raid sirens in Jerusalem as ballistic missiles were fired in this direction.
Then on Sunday I heard the explosion over my breakfast as a Houthi missile impacted in the perimeter of Ben Gurion Airport.
On Tuesday, Israel launched its retaliation which, according to its own assessment, destroyed the operational capability of Sanaa Airport.
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In Jerusalem, we are expecting a response in the coming hours or days.
If the Houthis decide to continue their campaign against Israel, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hope that the US maintains its military support.
But Trump will be eager to bank this win and crow his success – if that’s the case, I would expect to see the US pull back from this particular fight as it seeks a bigger nuclear deal with the Houthis’ sponsor – Iran.
