Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident during American air strikes against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, the US military said.
Both pilots survived the incident, but one suffered minor injuries.
The US military had conducted air strikes targeting the Houthi rebels on Sunday, local time, though the military's Central Command did not elaborate on the mission's details.
"The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman," Central Command said in a statement.
The Red Sea corridor has grown dangerous over the past year amid ongoing attacks on shipping by the Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The rebel group has targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, following Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
One vessel was seized and two others sunk by the Houthis in that time, in a campaign that has also killed four sailors.
The rebels maintain they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
The air strikes in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, targeted a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by the Houthis, the US military said earlier.
The attack came after Houthi militants launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv, injuring at least 14 people on Saturday, local time.
In an earlier statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations".
It also said it struck multiple Houthi one-way drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.
"CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden," the statement read.
"The strike reflects CENTCOM's ongoing commitment to protect US and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping."
The operation involved US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18 Hornet fighter planes.
Saturday's strike followed a similar attack last week by US aircraft against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis, which control much of Yemen.
Houthi militants strike Tel Aviv
Yemen's Houthi militants claimed responsibility for launching a missile strike at Tel Aviv, which injured at least 14 people on Saturday, local time.
In a statement, the rebel group said its original strikes on Israel had "targeted a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of" Tel Aviv using a ballistic missile.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had earlier said it failed to intercept the strike, and Israel's ambulance service said its paramedics were treating patients with minor shrapnel injuries, with some taken to hospital.
"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, one projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made," the IDF said on its Telegram channel.
Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel since the conflict in Gaza began, in what the group describes as an act of solidarity with Palestinians.
On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.
The Iran-backed group in Yemen has been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year to try to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.
Houthi has said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza.
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