A burning oil tanker after US airstrikes targeted the Ras Isa oil port held by the Ansarallah Movement in Hodeida, Yemen, April 18, 2025. Photo: Al-Masirah TV/Reuters.
The US military said its attack aimed to ‘deprive’ the Ansarallah movement of ‘illegal revenue’
US airstrikes on an oil port in western Yemen’s Hodeidah killed dozens of people and injured over 100 more late on 17 April, one of the deadliest attacks since Washington renewed its war against the country last month.
Al-Masirah TV said that at least 58 workers at the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah were killed, and 126 others were injured. It also reported that At least five paramedics were among those killed.
Video footage and images released by Yemeni media showed burnt bodies and flames as a result of the attack.
“Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years. The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen,” US CENTCOM said in a statement.
The Yemeni government in Sanaa said that Washington’s “statements attempting to justify the crime of targeting the Ras Issa oil port to the world are false and misleading,” adding that “this crime proves once again that the American enemy is deliberately bombing civilian targets and the country’s assets.”
“The American enemy’s targeting of Ras Issa Port is a full-fledged war crime and will not go unpunished,” Sanaa added. Ras Issa port is used for civilian purposes, including energy exports and oil storage.
With Yemen Attack, US Continues Long History of Deliberately Bombing Hospitals
US strikes also targeted the Mukayras district south of Al-Bayda Governorate in central Yemen with three air strikes.
Two strikes also targeted the Arhab district north of Yemen’s capital.
The US has been bombing Yemen every day since 15 March, when US President Donald Trump renewed – with severe intensity – the campaign which was started by the former administration of US president Joe Biden.
The bombing campaign comes in response to Yemen’s reimposition of a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and elsewhere, as well as its renewal of drone and missile attacks on Israel after Tel Aviv restarted the war on Gaza last month.
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF), which is merged with the Ansarallah resistance movement, is responding to Washington’s attacks with operations targeting US warships in the Red Sea, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
The US attacks have failed to deter the YAF or significantly impact its military capabilities. The Yemeni forces launched 78 missile and drone attacks against Israel and US warships since Washington renewed its campaign on 15 March.
Hours after the attack on Ras Issa port, the YAF targeted Israel with a ballistic missile. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, forcing settlers to rush into shelters. The Israeli army said it intercepted the missile.
