WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump has joined Israel's war on Yemen's Houthis, days after the group said it would resume its attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthi rebels ceased their attacks on Red Sea shipping when  the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect.

However the Houthis have maintained Israel has repeatedly breached the ceasefire, particularly when the IDF terminated all humanitarian aid access to the embattled enclave last week.

The Houthis gave Israel four days to resume aid or they said they would resume targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea. The 4 days expired on Tuesday night without any change. The Houthis had yet to respond, however the U.S. military has taken up Israel's baton and carried out extensive air attacks on what the U.S. says are Houthi targets. The attacks were carried out on Saturday. night. Thirty-one people have been killed, according to Reuters news agency, while 101 more were injured.

The New York Times has reported the bulk of the attacks were carried out by fighter jets from the U.S. aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the northern Red Sea, with support from U.S. Air Force attack planes and armed drones from bases in rhe Middle East.

Mr Trump, according to U.S. officials quoted by The New York Times, approved the plan to launch the attacks on Friday. He had earlier asked the military to draw up plans for a sustained and 'lethal' campaign.

"Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen," the president said in a message on Truth Social on Saturday. "They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones."

The Houthis however rejected the president's assertion that it was targeting international shipping, insisting it was only targeting Israeli vessels.

"Our naval operations will continue exclusively targeting Israeli vessels to end the siege on Gaza," Muhammad al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Ansarallah Political Bureau said Sunday. 

Mohammad Abdul-Salam, head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation, condemned the U.S. airstrikes, saying they were designed to bolster Israel's siege of Gaza. He too rejected Mr Trump's claims about the safety of international navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, claiming Yemen's naval blockade only targets Israeli shipping.

Mr Trump meantime had a message for Iran, a long time supporter of the Houthi rebels: "To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable," he posted.

The White House later on Saturday issued a photo of President Trump watching a live stream of the U.S. military attacks,

Ynet News reported Trump's attacks were on the advice of Israel, and were assisted by intelligence from Saudi Arabia and Egyot.

"Israel's primary role has been in encouraging the Trump administration to adopt a more aggressive approach toward Yemen, not only because of renewed Houthi threats against Israel but also to prevent them from threatening international shipping in Bab el-Mandeb, launching missiles toward Israel and targeting Western coalition vessels in the Red Sea," the Ynet report added.

Russia was consulted on the attacks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke informing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of what the State department described as  'military deterrence operations against the Iran-backed Houthis,' and saying that further attacks 'will not be tolerated.'  Rubio and Lavrov also discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the U.S. and Russia, according to a State Department statement released on Saturday.

The State Department's Russian counterpart also issued a statement, calling for a cessation of hostilities. "On March 15, at the initiative of the American side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During the talk, the U.S. reported its decision to launch a military operation against the Houthi forces in the Red Sea region," the Russian ministry's statement said.

"In response to the reasoning presented by the American side, Sergey Lavrov emphasized the need for an immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance of all parties engaging in political dialogue to find a solution that prevents further bloodshed," the statement said.

(File photos).