Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities on Friday to protest against the airstrikes launched by the United States and Britain in retaliation of Houthi forces’ attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The US and Britain carried out dozens of airstrikes on Houthi military targets in several Yemeni cities overnight, widening a wave of regional conflict unleashed by Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Crowds under Yemen and Palestinian flags gathered in Hodeida, Taiz and Aden to condemn the US and British strikes and to reaffirm their support for Palestinians.

“We strongly condemn the US and British strikes in Hodeida and other Yemeni cities. We want to tell them that Yemen’s sovereignty is protected. We will not give up our support for the Palestinians even if more suffering is inflicted on us,” said Muhammad Ayyash Qahim, a Hodeida resident.

In Yemeni government-controlled Taiz and Aden, people expressed their strong condemnation over the strikes and worries about the safety of their lives.

“By launching the strikes, the US aims to maintain its hegemony over the entire Arab region,” said Abdul Jalil Razaz, a Taiz resident.

“The US and British strikes will greatly affect the lives of Yemenis and the access to humanitarian supplies. Prices of goods arriving in Yemen are likely to increase sharply due to the strikes. And because of the rise in shipping fees, it would be harder for Yemen to receive aid from international organizations, which could pose great difficulties to local people’s lives,” said Mohammed Adel, an Aden resident.

“As Yemenis we are really worried that the attacks would last and affect our lives which have been greatly affected after years of conflicts,” said Yassin Muthana, another Aden resident.

The US and Britain said that they carried out the airstrikes to deter the Houthis from launching attacks on commercial ships in the international shipping lanes of the Red Sea, which threaten global trade and drive up the cost of commodities.

The Houthis have escalated their attacks in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7, demanding the end of Israeli attacks and siege against the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this week, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution denouncing the Houthi attacks on the shipping lines, calling for an immediate end to the group’s attacks that have disrupted global trade.