By Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abu Shamala
SANAA, Yemen / ISTANBUL (AA) - A Houthi official on Saturday condemned US President Donald Trump's stance on the targeting of "a tribal gathering" in Yemen.
Hours earlier, Trump had posted a video on his Truth Social platform, claiming it depicted the moment US aircraft targeted a gathering of Houthi fighters in Yemen, without specifying the location or time of the strike.
In the video, Trump claimed: “These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”
In response, Abdulrahman al-Ahnomi, head of the Houthi-run General Corporation for Radio and Television, denied Trump’s claims.
“The US President is showing off his terrorism before the world," al-Ahnomi wrote on X.
“Targeting a tribal gathering is not a victory, but a reflection of the US’s failure to identify any real targets,” he said, without providing further details.
The video, which appeared to have been filmed from a drone or military aircraft, shows around 70 people gathered in a circle, with one person standing in the center, before the group is struck by an airstrike that leaves a large crater in the scene.
According to Anadolu correspondent, such circular gatherings are common in Yemen for tribal mobilization rallies or protest gatherings.
Last month, Trump said that he had ordered "decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthis and later threatened to "completely annihilate them."
The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 50,600 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault.
The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas but resumed them after renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza last month.