Houthi-held Yemen Port wrecked in US airstrikes, satellite images reveal

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the aftermath of U.S. airstrikes targeting the Ras Isa oil port in Yemen. (AP)

The statement added: “This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully”, as per Associated Press (AP).

The strike hit oil facilities for the first time in the campaign, causing large fireballs in the sky. The port includes oil storage tanks and equipment, and sits in Hodeida province along the Red Sea. It connects via pipeline to Marib, a region rich in oil and controlled by Yemen’s exiled government.

Although oil exports from Ras Isa have stopped due to the ongoing war, the port remains important to the Houthis as it receives fuel like gasoline and cooking gas. Damage to this port could badly affect people living in Houthi-controlled areas.

The Houthis condemned the attack, calling it “completely unjustified aggression.” A statement from the group said, “It targets a vital civilian facility that has served the Yemeni people for decades.”

Earlier this month, the US State Department had warned countries and businesses not to send oil to Yemen, stating it would not “tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organisations, such as the Houthis.”

The airstrike marks a major increase in Trump’s military campaign against the group. Luca Nevola, a senior analyst for the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, told AP, “Since they are targeting civilian areas, there’s a lot more victims but it’s also difficult to assess how many.”

This photo taken from video released by Al Masirah TV channel shows medics carrying a dead person after U.S. airstrikes targeted the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Hodeida, Yemen. (AP)

Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha from the Basha Report said one US strike highlighted by Trump online may have killed around 70 fighters. He noted the Houthis didn’t release names or footage, “strongly suggesting the victims were not civilians but affiliated fighters.” However, he added, “the overnight strike on the Ras Isa Fuel Port marks the first mass-casualty incident the Houthis have openly acknowledged and publicised.”

In a separate development, the Houthis fired a missile at Israel later that same day, according to the Israeli military. Sirens went off in Tel Aviv, but the missile was intercepted.

The conflict in Yemen has also drawn in other countries. A US official accused a Chinese satellite company, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., of “directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests,” as reported by the Financial Times and acknowledged by US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, “I am not familiar with the situation you mentioned,” but added that China has worked to “de-escalate the situation” in the Red Sea. Chang Guang did not respond to questions from the AP.

The US Treasury had earlier sanctioned the company in 2023 for giving satellite images to Russia’s Wagner Group during the war in Ukraine.

An AP review suggests that Trump’s campaign against the Houthis has been broader than that of former President Joe Biden. The strikes began in mid-March after the Houthis threatened to attack ships linked to Israel over the Gaza crisis.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have attacked over 100 commercial ships using missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors, which has disrupted trade through the vital Red Sea corridor.