SANA’A (Dispatches) -- Ansarullah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Thursday said a major Yemeni operation against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier which was preparing to conduct a large-scale act of aggression against Yemen forced it to flee.
“The ship was so close to Yemen that it could carry out hostile operations against our country, but the U.S. literally failed to carry out its operations and only fired a few limited shots, which resulted in the martyrdom of some Yemeni citizens,” he said in a televised address.
“It was the fourth time that the American ship was targeted. It was an important, bold and very powerful action that no one in the world has dared to do against aircraft carriers since the end of World War II.
“As a result of the attack on the warship, an American F-18 jet which is one of the most important and expensive fighters of the country, was shot down,” he added.
Houthi said the fact that the U.S. military has admitted to having mistakenly shot down the F/A-18 Super Hornet jet over the Red Sea vividly points to its state of failure, incapability and utter confusion.
“Western reports and analyses indicate that the attack on the American ship has changed the concept and tactics of naval warfare forever. Such ships can no longer claim deterrence because the Truman strike group had to flee and retreat to over 1,500 km from Yemeni ports.”
He also termed Yemen’s launch of hypersonic missiles at Israeli targets “a very important achievement”, saying they have surprised the enemies.
“Yemen’s supersonic missile operation, which penetrated the enemy’s systems, is a great and very important achievement,

 and the enemy and the Americans are aware of it,” Houthi said.
The firing of hypersonic missiles, he said, has caused immense disappointment among the political and security apparatus of Israel and the United States.
“The Israeli enemy was surprised by the speed of operations on the Yemen front and spoke with despair about it,” Houthi said.
“While the enemy was boasting that the momentum was in its favor, it was surprised by the continuation of the operations on the Yemeni front,” he said, emphasizing that Israel “is not capable of confronting us”.
Houthi also touched on Yemen’s targeting of Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, which have forced ships to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, extending the journey by up to three weeks.
Major companies such as Denmark’s Maersk, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, France’s CMA CGM, and Italy-Switzerland’s MSC have suspended their voyages through the Red Sea, effectively shutting down the port of Eilat at the southern tip of the Israeli occupied territories.
“The enemy knows that our naval operations will continue and will have a significant impact on its economic situation.
“The enemy has admitted that it is not able to face the challenge of Yemen because Yemen relies on faith, knowledge and insight,” Houthi said.
“The enemy’s media and officials admit defeat and say that Eilat port is deserted and out of operation,” he added.
Houthi said the Israeli regime’s financial market indices and currency plunged after the missile operation on Tel Aviv’s southern suburb of Jaffa last week.
Houthi further touched on the Israeli occupation of new Syrian lands after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, saying the regime is seeking to dominate the Arab country’s water resources.
“From now on, Jordanians will have to pay the Zionist regime in order to have access to water. Therefore, the Zionist regime will take the Jordan River under its control so that it can use it for ransom.”
Israel, he said, continues to expand its occupation in Syria, where it has already seized “almost 95% of the area of Al Quneitra province and is currently advancing towards Dara’a and south of Damascus”.
Houthi touched on attacks by Israeli forces on Syrian villagers, including in Maariyah in Dara’a, where a Syrian protester was shot and wounded during an angry demonstration against the Israeli military presence.
“The Zionists plan to disarm the people of this area so that they can complete their project. The Zionists have beaten the residents of these villages.”
He also said Israel “seeks to present the image of victory in Lebanon, especially after failing to achieve its goal of destroying Hezbollah” through repeated violations of a ceasefire.
On Thursday, the Lebanese army said Israeli forces launched a deepened incursion into some areas of southern Lebanon in violation of the November 27 ceasefire agreement, kidnapping a Lebanese man.
Hundreds of Israeli violations have been reported since the ceasefire agreement went into effect to end nearly 70 days of Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon.