The US and UK bombed Yemen, reportedly attacking Houthi "military facilities" (a vague term).

If these attacks make Houthi attacks on shipping hard or impossible, that could stop them. Otherwise, I expect this retaliation to have little effect on the Houthis' actions. Others agree. The Houthis knew the ways the US can attack them, and have surely figured in advance what their anti-shipping war will cost them.

They say that their attacks will "punish" the US for counterattacking them, but they don't think of being counterattacked as punishment for their own attacks. I don't think they evaluate the results of their actions by comparing their victories with damage they take.

I don't think the Houthis' attacks on shipping will have much effect on fighting in Gaza.

There are some who say that the US should pressure Israel to accept a cease fire in Gaza instead of retaliating against Houthi attacks on shipping.

I agree with half of that — the US should pressure Israel to accept a cease fire in Gaza. But not "instead of" anything. The reason to demand a cease fire in Gaza is that Israel continues to kill thousands of Palestinian civilians, and that is a great crime.

That reason is so strong that no other reason is required.

By contrast, terrorist attacks against global shipping are not a reason to grant the attacker's demands. A world order dominated by violent religious fanatics is no improvement over the current world order.

As regards repelling further such attacks, the US needs a cheap anti-drone drone. It could be designed to collide with the attacking drone, or tangle it in a net and bring it down. Since it would not need to carry a bomb, it could be smaller and cheaper. These defensive drones could have other uses — for instance, to deal with drones operating dangerously near airports.