US fighter jet shoots down an anti-ship cruise missile targeting a destroyer in the Red Sea - as Houthi rebels pose with ROCKET LAUNCHERS and machine guns as they hit back at America for bombing Yemen targets

A US fighter jet has shot down a cruise missile fired towards an American destroyer by Houthi rebels - their first response to a series of drone strikes from Western forces.

The United States military and its allies began airstrikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis had targeted the corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy shipments to the Suez Canal over the Israel-Hamas war.

The Shiite rebel group allied with Iran, which seized Yemen's capital in 2014, are yet to acknowledge the missile attack. 

Rebels were seen posing with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released Sunday. Fighters were also photographed earlier in the weekend conducting drills and recording themselves in terrain made to resemble Jewish settlements.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the US would retaliate for the latest attack, though Joe Biden said he 'will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.'

The Houthi fire on Sunday went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis. 'An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,' Central Command said.

'There were no injuries or damage reported.' The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs.

Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas.

The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the infrastructure damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.

But two officials told the New York Times on Sunday they still have about 75 percent of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea.

This is despite the US and its allies claiming to have damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the targets struck. 

US forces followed up with a strike Saturday on a Houthi radar site. Shipping through the Red Sea has slowed over the attacks.

The Navy on Friday warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.

For their part, the Houthis alleged without providing evidence that the U.S. struck a site near Hodeida on Sunday around the same time of the cruise missile fire.

The Americans and the United Kingdom did not acknowledge conducting any strike - suggesting the blast may have been from a misfiring Houthi missile.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel´s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. 

But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.

Though the Biden administration and its allies have tried to calm tensions in the Middle East for weeks and prevent any wider conflict, the strikes threatened to ignite one.

Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting, sought to distance itself from the attacks on Houthi sites as it tries to maintain a delicate détente with Iran and a cease-fire it has in Yemen. 

The Saudi-led, U.S.-backed war in Yemen that began in 2015 has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world´s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.

The American military did not specifically say the fire targeted the Laboon, following a pattern by the U.S. since the Houthi attacks began. 

However, U.S. sailors have received combat ribbons for their actions in the Red Sea- something handed out only to those who face active hostilities with an enemy force.

Houthi troops have been pictured conducting drills in terrain resembling Jewish houses following a number of US and coalition airstrikes over the last two days.

Photos shared by the Houthi Media Centre on Saturday showed soldiers armed with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles operating in mock residential areas featuring the Star of David in Yemen.

Aerial footage dated January 11 also showed drone operators practicing while stood on American flags.

And the exercises saw missiles and tanks tested near the northern Yemen-Saudi Arabia border at Al-Baqaa area.

The photos were released after the Houthi leadership promised revenge for strikes conducted by allies in response to rebel attacks on trade vessels in recent weeks.

A joint exercise between Britain, the US and allies in the early hours of Friday morning was followed by subsequent attacks late Friday and this afternoon. 

The Houthi militia threatened a 'strong and effective response' after the United States carried out its strike in Yemen on Saturday, further stoking tensions.

A fresh airstrike hit the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeida Saturday following two nights of attacks on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

A military source allied with the rebels told AFP 'the site from which a Houthi rocket was launched on the outskirts of Hodeida was hit', adding that it was not clear whether the strike came from the sea or the air. 

It comes after British and American forces launched strikes on Houthi military sites on Thursday night into Friday morning after the militants carried out several attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

After bombarding the rebel-held areas of Yemen early on Friday, the US also launched a new round of strikes last night.

The strikes have added to concerns about the escalation of the conflict that has spread through the region since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel went to war, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. 

The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, have carried out a growing number of missile and drone attacks on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the key Red Sea international trade route.

'We have emphasized to everyone that [the Houthi] operations are to support the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and that we cannot stand idly by in the face of the aggression and siege,' Houthi chief negotiator and spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Al Jazeera in December.

It comes as there is no sign the war between Hamas and Israel will slow down - with the terrorists unwilling to make a deal to let hostages go free.

Hamas released a chilling video of Israeli hostages including 26-year-old Noa Argamani on Sunday to mark the 100th day since the attack.

January 14 marks 100 days since Hamas' shock invasion into southern Israel, storming across the border in cars, vans and by motorized paraglider at daybreak.

As many as 240 hostages were taken on October 7 to be used as leverage in prisoner swaps with Israel, which holds many Palestinians - civilians and suspected terrorists - in prisons.

A week-long ceasefire was organized in November after weeks of retaliatory bombing by Israel on communities in Gaza as the army paved the way for a wider ground invasion.

Critics, including international charities and the UN, warned that the bombing was devastating civilian communities in one of the world's most densely-packed enclaves.

A siege of Gaza City, cutting water, aid, power, medical supplies and fuel to the beleaguered Strip risked a serious humanitarian crisis, the UN warned in October.

And 24-hour evacuation orders were met with outcry from humanitarian aid groups, warning such an unprecedented migration of people was 'impossible'.

Mounting pressure eventually saw Israel agree to a temporary ceasefire to last from November 24 until November 30 - later extended until November 31.

A total of 110 hostages were released during that timeframe, mostly as part of a Qatar-mediated deal between Hamas and Israel, some released as part of a separate deal with Thailand and two as a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The return of hostages from Gaza has revealed the dire conditions hostages were exposed to within Gaza. 

Some gave chilling accounts of rape, physical beatings and psychological torture, drawing horrified reactions from family members and Israeli citizens who put more pressure on the government to safely ensure the return of the remaining captives.

The sustained fighting has also seen IDF soldiers mistakenly kill surrendering hostages carrying white flags while operating in Gaza.

And returning hostages warned some were being held in tunnels under the Strip - as Israel revealed plans to pump them with water to flush out Hamas.

Families worry the far-right government's policies enacted during wartime, such as new provisions for the death penalty, could adversely affected their loved ones held in Gaza.

And the White House said on Sunday it was the 'right time' for Israel to scale back the war in Gaza.

'There is a realization there is no military way to get them out so that increases the pressure on the [Israeli] government to respond and seek a deal,' Dr Andreas Krieg, Assistant Professor of Defence Studies at King's College London, told MailOnline.

'There is a realization that this kind of operational tempo is not sustainable.

'It's not sustainable in terms of the casualties that are being generated. The amount of casualties among Palestinian civilians is completely unprecedented, I think, in modern warfare because ultimately [the IDF] can't leave. They're just there.'

More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military campaign in October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Around 40 per cent of the Gazan population are children. 

Despite the challenges facing Israel operating within the Palestinian enclave, the IDF has reaffirmed its commitment to safely returning the hostages through 'increased military pressure'.

The attacks by the Houthi rebels, while in solidarity with Gaza, have caused problems for shipping routes.  

Around 12 percent of global trade normally passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea entrance between southwest Yemen and Djibouti.

But since mid-November the rebel attacks have affected trade flows when supply strains are already putting upward pressure on inflation globally.

The Houthi outfit emerged in the 1990s but gained international attention in 2014 during a rebellion against Yemen's government, sparking the ongoing civil war.

Yemen's government subsequently stepped down, leading to a humanitarian crisis. Houthi forces continue to clash with a Saudi-led coalition and allies in the United States and a number of European powers.

The Houthis continue to receive millions in aid from Iran each year, which also provides aid and training to Hamas in Gaza and as much as $700million a year to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Houthis have been accused of several violations of international law - beyond targeting non-combatant merchant vessels in the Red Sea - including using child soldiers, expected to make up a third of all fighters in Yemen.

Human Rights Watch published a report in 2018 detailing how Houthi soldiers would take hostages, arbitrarily detain people and use torture methods to extort money from relatives.

The UN also reported in 2018 the Houthis were diverting food aid from distribution areas intended for civilians affected by the humanitarian crisis.

And in 2019, Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat alleged that modern slavery had been restored by the Houthis in Yemen, based on 'local reports'.