Deadliest US Strike in Yemen Kills 74 at Oil Terminal

A handout screen grab taken from a video released by Houthis-run al-Masirah TV shows flames and smoke rising from the fuel port of Ras Isa following US airstrikes, in the port province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 18 April 2025. EPA/HOUTHIS AL-MASIRSAH TV / HANDOUT
A handout screen grab taken from a video released by Houthis-run al-Masirah TV shows flames and smoke rising from the fuel port of Ras Isa following US airstrikes, in the port province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 18 April 2025. EPA/HOUTHIS AL-MASIRSAH TV / HANDOUT
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Deadliest US Strike in Yemen Kills 74 at Oil Terminal

A handout screen grab taken from a video released by Houthis-run al-Masirah TV shows flames and smoke rising from the fuel port of Ras Isa following US airstrikes, in the port province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 18 April 2025. EPA/HOUTHIS AL-MASIRSAH TV / HANDOUT
A handout screen grab taken from a video released by Houthis-run al-Masirah TV shows flames and smoke rising from the fuel port of Ras Isa following US airstrikes, in the port province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 18 April 2025. EPA/HOUTHIS AL-MASIRSAH TV / HANDOUT

US strikes on Yemen's Ras Isa fuel terminal on the Red Sea coast have killed at least 74 people in the deadliest attack since the US started its bombing campaign against the Houthis last year, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

US President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of strikes last month in the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since he took office in January. Washington has vowed to keep attacking the Iran-aligned Houthis until the group halts attacks on Red Sea shipping.

Health ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said 171 people were injured in Thursday's strikes, according to preliminary figures, with rescue teams continuing efforts to search for victims.

The US military said the strikes aimed to cut off a source of fuel for the Houthi militant group. The port has a heavy military presence in addition to being a primary hub for fuel imports, Yemeni sources said.

Among the dead were employees of Safer Oil Company, which operates the port, and the Yemen Petroleum Company, responsible for overseeing imported fuel shipments and their distribution, the sources added.

US Central Command did not comment on the health ministry's casualty figure.

"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," it had said in a post on X.

The US and Israel have previously targeted the port, viewing it as a hub for launching drones, missiles, and attacks on ships.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza.

Ras Isa terminal, about which is about 55 km (35 miles) north of the port city of Hodeidah, has a storage capacity of 3 million barrels.

Fuel import taxes bring in hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the Houthi administration, sources said.

The Houthis halted attacks on shipping lanes during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. Although they vowed to resume strikes after Israel renewed its assault on the enclave last month, they have not struck targets in the Red Sea since then.

In March, two days of US attacks killed more than 50 people, Houthi officials said.



Israel Attacks Yemen's Hodeidah after Evacuation Warnings, Houthis Say

File photo: Smoke billows over buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Sana'a, Yemen, 06 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
File photo: Smoke billows over buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Sana'a, Yemen, 06 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Israel Attacks Yemen's Hodeidah after Evacuation Warnings, Houthis Say

File photo: Smoke billows over buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Sana'a, Yemen, 06 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
File photo: Smoke billows over buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Sana'a, Yemen, 06 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Israel attacked Hodeidah in Yemen after the Israeli army said it had warned residents of three ports under Houthi control to evacuate, the Houthi interior ministry said on Sunday.

The strikes came shortly after Israel warned residents of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif to leave, saying the ports were being used by the Iranian-backed Houthis, reported Reuters.

But the head of the Houthi-run state news agency Saba, Nasruddin Amer, denied any Israeli attacks on Yemeni ports.

There was no immediate comment on the attack from Israel.

The strikes came a few days after a missile launched towards Israel by the Houthis was intercepted.

It also came ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East this week.

Trump, who started an intensified military campaign against Houthi strongholds in Yemen on March 15, agreed to an Oman-mediated ceasefire deal with the group, which said the accord did not include Israel.

The Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel, as well as attacking vessels in global shipping lanes, in a campaign that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump on Tuesday also said that the Houthis had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.

Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.