Dozens killed as US strikes fuel port in Yemen

US air strikes targeting Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen’s Hudaida province have killed at least 38 people, including health workers, the Houthi group’s Al-Masirah TV channel has reported.

Thursday’s attack on the port aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Iran-backed Houthis, the US military claimed.

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 group began their attacks in late 2023, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's army claimed on Friday they had intercepted an incoming missile from Yemen.

In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said: "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".

Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi earlier 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.

Fireball

The port lies along the Red Sea on the west coast of Yemen.

In images broadcast early on Friday by the group's Al-Masirah 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 defence 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 Tel Aviv launched a brutal war on Gaza in October 2023.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted," Israel's army claimed on Friday on Telegram, adding that aerial defence 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 them would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.

On Thursday evening, France's Defence 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.

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Source: TRT