A US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement said the operation was conducted in "self defense" against a Houthi cruise missile "prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea" at 4 a.m. local time on Sunday.

This follows on the heels of a much bigger wave of strikes Saturday, which involved the US coalition attacking over 30 targets across 13 locations from air and ships, including using F/A-18 fighter jets.

A statement released from Operation Prosperity Guardian Saturday said, "Today's strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis' deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars."

The statement was issued by the US, UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand, which make up the Western coalition trying to protect international commercial transit in the Red Sea.

The Associated Press has put the number of Saturday strikes alone at 36, meaning by Sunday the coalition has reached nearly 40 strikes in Yemen:

The United States and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in a second wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have relentlessly attacked American and international interests in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. But Washington once more did not directly target Iran as it tries to find a balance between a forceful response and intensifying the conflict.

The stepped-up Western campaign appears to have done little to deter the Houthi attacks, given launches are still being attempted. A fresh Houthi statement has warned, "We will meet escalation with escalation."

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday that the anti-Houthi strikes are about protecting innocent lives:

"The Houthis' attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea are illegal and unacceptable and it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation," Shapps said.