US strike on Yemen fuel port kills at least 58, Houthi media say

US vows to continue Middle East strikes unless Houthis halt attacks on Red Sea shipping routes

Soldiers carry the coffin of Jalal al-Suhaili, son of Houthi chieftain Saleh al-Suhaili, during the funeral of two sons and two daughters of Saleh al-Suhaili, who according to local Houthi media were killed by U.S. strikes on his house, in Sanaa, Yemen April 17, 2025.

Reuters

U.S. strikes on a fuel port in Yemen killed at least 58 people, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said, one of the deadliest since the United States began its attacks on the Iran-backed militants.

The United States has vowed not to halt the large-scale strikes begun last month in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January, unless the Houthis cease attacks on Red Sea shipping.

Al Masirah TV said 126 people were also wounded in Thursday's strikes on the western fuel port of Ras Isa, which the U.S. military said aimed to cut off a source of fuel for the Houthi militant group.

Responding to a Reuters query for comment on the Houthis' casualty figure and its own estimate, the U.S. Central Command said it had none beyond the initial announcement of the attacks.

"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.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on vessels transiting the waterway, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in protest over the war in Gaza.

They halted attacks on shipping lanes during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. Although they vowed to resume strikes after Israel renewed its assault on Gaza last month, they have not claimed any since.

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