The US military said it had destroyed a key Yemeni fuel port as it targets the country’s Houthi rebels, who said Friday that 20 people had been killed in the strikes.
The attack on the Ras Issa fuel port aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Iran-backed Houthis, the US military said.
Washington has hammered the Houthis with near-daily air strikes since March 15 in a bid to end their attacks on civilian shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels began their attacks in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s army said Friday they had intercepted an incoming missile from Yemen.
In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said: “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 terrorise 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.”
Ships “have continued to supply fuel via the port of Ras Issa” despite Washington designating the rebels a foreign terrorist organisation earlier this year, the military command added, without specifying the source of the fuel.
Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said the preliminary death toll stood at 20, including five paramedics.
There were also “50 wounded workers and employees at the Ras Issa oil port, following the American aggression,” he said on X.
“The death toll is likely to rise as body parts are still being identified,” he added.
إرتفاع عدد الشهداء والجرحى إلى 70 منهم 20 شهيدًا منهم 5 مسعفين و50 جريحًا من العمال والموظفين في ميناء رأس عيسى النفطي إثر العدوان الأميركي على الميناء شمالي غرب محافظة الحديدة فى حصيلة غير نهائية.
فحصيلة الشهداء مرشحة للزيادة فهناك أشلاء مقطعة مازالت عمليات التعرف عليهم جارية— د. أنيس الاصبحي Dr-Anees Alasbahi (@alasbahi_dr) April 17, 2025
Fireball
The port lies along the west coast of Yemen on the Red Sea.
In images broadcast early Friday by the rebels’ Al-Masira channel, which it presented as the “first images of the US aggression” against the port, a fireball lit up the area around the ships, while thick columns of smoke rose above what appeared to be an ongoing blaze.
“Civil defense rescue teams and paramedics are making every effort to search for and extract victims and extinguish the fire,” said Alasbahi.
The Houthis have regularly fired missiles and drones on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 following an attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” Israel’s army said Friday on Telegram, adding that aerial defense systems had been deployed “to intercept the threat.”
Houthi attacks have hampered shipping through the Suez Canal — a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic — forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.
The United States first began conducting strikes against the Houthis under president Joe Biden’s administration, and his successor President Donald Trump has vowed that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.
On Thursday evening, France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said a French frigate in the Red Sea destroyed a drone launched from Yemen.
“Our armed forces continue their commitment to ensuring maritime freedom of movement,” he said on X.
En mer Rouge, destruction par une frégate française d’un drone tiré depuis le Yémen.
Nos armées continuent leur engagement pour garantir la libre circulation maritime. pic.twitter.com/VgGzyYhiKz
— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) April 17, 2025
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told journalists Thursday that the Chinese satellite firm Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company was “directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests.”
“Their actions — and Beijing’s support of the company, even after our private engagements with them — is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace,” she said.
Bruce did not initially provide details on the nature of the company’s support for the rebels, but later referred to “a Chinese company providing satellite imagery to the Houthis.”
