© 2026 ABC News

Blinken went further Friday, saying U.S. officials will \"closely monitor the activities of Ansarallah and its leaders and are actively identifying additional targets for designation,\" especially for attacking commercial shipping and Saudi targets.

\"Ansarallah's actions and intransigence prolong this conflict and exact serious humanitarian costs. We remain committed to helping U.S. partners in the Gulf defend themselves, including against threats arising from Yemen, many of which are carried out with the support of Iran,\" Blinken added. \"The United States will redouble its efforts, alongside the United Nations and others, to end the war itself.\"

To that end, Biden named a special envoy for Yemen last week, career diplomat Timothy Lenderking, who has already traveled to Saudi Arabia this week -- a sign of the \"priority and the urgency we are attaching to the diplomacy to bring about peace and stability,\" Price said Wednesday.

\"PHOTO:
Ahmad Al-basha/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: A Yemeni mother carries a child suffering from malnutrition during his treatment at a treatment centre in Taez, Yemen, Oct. 28, 2020.
>

In Riyadh, Lenderking met with U.N. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, along with Saudi and Yemeni government officials. Blinken also called his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Wednesday to condemn the attack on Abha airport and promote \"diplomatic outreach to find a negotiated political settlement to the war.\"

Despite their new wave of violence, the Houthis' foreign affairs minister mirrored that sentiment last Saturday, saying the group was \"ready for peace\" and welcomed the decision to lift the designation.

\"The most important thing we want to see in the coming period is no interception to oil derivatives for the citizens, no interception for food for the citizens, to start arrangements for peace, a ceasefire, and to completely lift the blockade, and God willing, the Yemeni people will see achievements from the government in Sanaa,\" Houthi minister Hisham Sharaf told the Associated Press.

The matter couldn't be more urgent. The United Nations said Friday that 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of 5 are expected to suffer from \"severe acute malnutrition\" in 2021 and could die without urgent intervention -- with nearly 2.3 million children projected to face \"acute malnutrition.\"

\"We have one meal a day, sometimes two, but often my husband and I don't eat at all so that our children can eat,\" said Alia Mohammed Ahmed Hassan, a 20-year old mother of three in Al-Dhale city, according to the World Food Program, adding her 1 1/2-year-old daughter Rawan Mohsen has been suffering from malnutrition for six months.

Despite the enormous needs across the country, long the Arab world's poorest, the humanitarian response has been critically underfunded in recent years, as neighbors like the UAE pulled back funding. In 2020, the U.N.'s Humanitarian Response plan received just over half of its requested funding from donor countries.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/wave-violence-us-lift-terrorist-designation-houthi-rebels/story?id=75854117","legacySlug":"/news/story/wave-violence-us-lift-terrorist-designation-houthi-rebels-75854117","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"19:25","publishDate":"02-12-2021","updatedTime":"19:35","updatedDate":"02-12-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Houthi fighters gather at a recently captured area following heavy fighting with forces loyal to the internationally recognized government on March 2, 2020, in Al-Jawf province, Yemen.","credit":"Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/houthi-fighters-01-gty-jt-201014_1602702675185_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"2/12/2021 19:25:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":75854117,"headline":"US to lift terrorist designation on Yemeni rebels ","mediaAssetTitle":"HOUTHI TERRORIST DESIGNATION","description":"Trump's last-minute designation would have risked catastrophe, aid groups said.","duration":"1:55","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/05/260501_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132488083","132306053","132266872"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"US to lift terrorist designation on Yemeni rebels ","description":"Trump's last-minute designation would have risked catastrophe, aid groups said.","duration":"1:55","uploadDate":"02-12-2021","publication":"02-12-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/05/260501_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/05/260501_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/wave-violence-us-lift-terrorist-designation-houthi-rebels-75854117"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"US to lift terrorist designation on Yemeni rebels ","pubTime":"14:25","pubDate":"02-12-2021","modTime":"14:35","modDate":"02-12-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":75854117,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"US to lift terrorist designation on Yemeni rebels ","mediaAssetTitle":"HOUTHI TERRORIST DESIGNATION","videoId":75854117,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/wave-violence-us-lift-terrorist-designation-houthi-rebels-75854117"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/75854117","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/75854117","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};