Why Donald Trump's military action on Houthis in Yemen is embroiled in controversy?

While United States President Donald Trump has claimed that he has “decimated” the Iran-backed Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea, but three weeks into the plans to hit the military organisation, there are reports that behind close doors, Pentagon officials have admitted to making only limited progress— and mostly underground — stockpile of missiles, drones, and launchers, according to congressional aides and allied sources, New York Times reported.

Donald Trump's team, too, has failed to offer proofs of what has the defence team has hit when targeting Houthis. What is known for sure of the attacks is from the Signal chat between some top Trump officials – including Vice President JD Vance, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe – when Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to it.

In the hours leading up to the strike on the Houthis in Yemen, Jeffrey Goldberg was among those with access to the highly sensitive US military plans. Details about the weapons to be used and the precise timing of the attacks were reportedly shared via Signal messages — all in writing — before the operation took place.

Even then, Donald Trump had claimed that the attack on Houthis was “very effective”.

There’s no denying the intensity of the recent US airstrikes — over $200 million worth of munitions have been deployed so far, according to the New York Times — but the Houthis, hardened by years of conflict, continue to hold their ground.

Now the questions are being asked that what Joe Biden could not do and when “seven years of pretty extreme Saudi and Emirati bombings, including a ground invasion” could not succeed, “Why does the Trump administration expect this bombing of the Houthis to have any more effect?” asked Annelle Sheline, who served at State Department during the Biden administration, Bloomberg quoted.

The Trump administration has reportedly launched multiple strikes on the Houthis, confirming the deaths of several top leaders — though it has withheld specific details.

On April 5, Donald Trump shared a video showing a gathering of people, followed by a bombing, and claimed that they were taking instruction on an attack. “These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”

A post on X by Yemen Military has claimed that the gathering was not of Houthis but a tribal community.

Mint could not independently verify this claim.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run health ministry based in Sanaa has said that as many as 60 civilians and 40 of their fighters have been killed in the strikes since mid-March.