At least 38 people have been killed in a U.S. airstrike on the Ras Isa oil port in Yemen.
Houthi-affiliated media described it as the deadliest attack by American forces in Yemen to date. Yemen’s Al Masirah TV, citing the Hodeidah Health Office, also reported that 102 others were injured in the Thursday strike.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that the airstrikes were aimed at reducing the Houthis’ financial resources and capabilities. “These strikes were intended to degrade the Houthis’ financial means of power, which they continue to exploit, causing immense suffering to their fellow citizens,” CENTCOM said in a social media post.
However, the Pentagon has not yet responded to media requests for comment regarding the rising death toll among Houthi members, according to Al Jazeera.
Reports indicate that the American airstrikes targeted multiple areas, with a particular focus on locations around the port and associated facilities.
“A series of four airstrikes occurred while people were working, taking the workers by surprise,” said one eyewitness. “Even truck drivers present at the site were killed.”
The American attack has resulted in civilian casualties in Yemen. Roughly 70% of Yemen’s imports and 80% of humanitarian aid pass through the Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and As Salif ports.
Video footage shared by Al Masirah TV on social media Friday morning showed a massive explosion in the sky over Ras Isa port.
Yemen has been in a devastating civil war since 2014, when the Houthi rebels, a Shiite group from the north of Yemen, took control of the capital Sana’a and later much of the country. In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition—backed by the United States and other Western allies—intervened to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
The war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with tens of thousands killed and millions pushed into famine.
Since late 2023, the Houthis have dramatically increased attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The recent U.S. strike is part of a wider effort to suppress Houthi power in response to their increasing aggression in the Red Sea. But every new attack deepens the humanitarian crisis and risks escalating a war that has already been dragging on for a decade.
