Have the Houthis waved the white flag? And did they do so a day too late?

Donald Trump announced a few minutes ago that the US would pause its bombardment in Yemen after the Iranian proxy terrorist army "capitulated." Trump claims that they have pledged to stop targeting Red Sea shipping, at least:

BREAKING: President Trump just announced that the United States will stop bombing Yemen IMMEDIATELY, saying they have called and conceded defeat.

"The Houthis have announced to us at least that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honor… pic.twitter.com/rx0n8eXKBF

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 6, 2025

Trump said the bombings on Houthi targets will stop "effectively immediately."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio then said the "job" was to get attacks on ships in the region to stop.

"If that's going to stop, we will stop," he added.

How exactly did the Houthis get in contact with the US? Presumably, they must have worked through their patrons in Tehran, who are not-so-coincidentally attempting to cut a deal with Trump to stave off military action against their nuclear-tech sites. Trump had warned the Iranians that any further Houthi attacks on Red Sea traffic would be considered an attack by Iran, and that the US was prepared to retaliate accordingly. 

The timing on this is ... interesting, at least. Trump says the communique came through "last night," which would have been a few hours before the IDF destroyed Sanaa International Airport and infrastructure in the city. That came in retaliation for a missile that targeted Ben Gurion Airport a few days ago. Does this white flag also apply to Israel?

The Israelis are not yet certain about that, and thus far Trump hasn't mentioned that key issue:

“We will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that was the purpose of what we’ve been doing,” he continues. “I think that’s very positive. They were knocking out of a lot of ships sailing beautifully down the various seas.”

Trump also stresses that the US “will stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”

He doesn’t mention Israel in his remarks or whether the Houthis also agreed to halt attacks on the Jewish state and targets they claim have Israeli links.

Perhaps today's operations by the IDF will force the Houthis to be a little more specific. On the other hand, the Houthis began these attacks to support Hamas and Hezbollah by attempting to stop Western trade. Israel is ramping up military pressure on Gaza at the same time that the Houthis are crying uncle, so there seems to be a desire to disconnect to some extent. After today, that desire might be more like desperation. 

If that's the case, then Hamas is well and truly screwed. Hezbollah has collapsed, the Houthis may be abandoning the fight, and it certainly looks as though Iran is washing its hands of proxy warfare, at least for now. Whether that pays off with a capitulation to Israel remains to be seen, but Hamas may want to get some white flags ready soon. 

Update: Trump's playing coy about the source of the capitulation, but they seem satisfied that it's on the level:

REPORTER: Can you tell us a bit more about the deal that you've reached with the Houthis?@POTUS: "They've said 'please don't bomb us anymore and we're not going to attack your ships.'"

REPORTER: And where did you hear about that?@POTUS: "A very good source... would you say,… pic.twitter.com/FbSYvAmR6R

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 6, 2025

I'd bet it's a source in Tehran. And it's significant that Trump emphasized that this isn't a "deal." If the Houthis stop attacking, we'll stop bombing, but we haven't agreed to anything, it seems.