US targets Houthis with more strikes

US military has carried out fresh strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, striking four anti-ship cruise missiles in the Red Sea.

The US said it intends to launch further strikes at Houthi targets, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday.

The US and Britain unleashed attacks against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, a day after the US military hit the group in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops in Jordan.

"We intend to take additional strikes, and additional action, to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, when our people are killed," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s Meet the Press programme on Sunday.

"I would not describe it as some open-ended military campaign," he added.

The strikes are the latest blows in a conflict that has spread into the Middle East since October 7, when  Hamas stormed Israel from the Gaza Strip, igniting war.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes "will not pass without a response and consequences".

Another Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, indicated the group would not be deterred, saying Yemen's decision to support Gaza would not be affected by any attack.

The Biden administration's diplomatic efforts to stem the fallout from the war also continued with top diplomat Antony Blinken departing for the region on Sunday afternoon.

He will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel in the coming days on his fifth trip to the region since October, which will focus on advancing talks on the return of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.

He will also make a push on a US-brokered mega-deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise ties, which hinges on bringing an end to other Gaza conflict and steps toward a future Palestinian state.