DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: US airstrikes targeting the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 20 people and wounded 50 others, the group said early Friday.
The strikes, confirmed by the US military’s Central Command, represent one of the highest death tolls so far in the campaign launched under President Donald Trump that has involved hundreds of strikes since March 15.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack, showing corpses strewn across the site. It claimed paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.
In a statement, Central Command said that “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 terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.”
“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,” it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties.
On April 9, the US State Department issued a warning about oil shipments to Yemen.
“The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports,” it said.
US strikes come as part of monthlong intense campaign
An Associated Press review has found the new US operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than that under former President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.
The US campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

CAIRO: The World Food Program has halted food shipments to Houthi-held areas of Yemen and suspended food distribution there after the militants looted one of its warehouses in the north, its deputy director said Thursday.
The suspension is a further blow in the war-torn country, where hunger has been growing. In February, the WFP said 62 percent of households it surveyed couldn’t get enough food, a figure that has been rising for the past nine months. It estimates that some 17 million people – early half Yemen’s population — are food insecure.
Carl Skau, WFP’s deputy executive director and chief operating officer, told The Associated Press that Houthis seized the warehouse in the northern region of Saada in mid-March and took around $1.6 million in supplies.
The seizure was the latest friction between the Houthis and the United Nations. The militants in recent months have detained dozens of UN staffers, as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the once-open US Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.
UN agencies, including the WFP, had already halted operations in Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold, in February after seven WFP staffers and another UN worker were detained, and one of the WFP members died in prison. It continued low-level operations in other parts of Yemen under the Houthis’ control.
After the seizure of the warehouse, the WFP halted shipments of new supplies to Houthi-held areas, Skau said.
“The operating environment needs to be conducive for us to continue,” he said. “We cannot accept that our colleagues are being detained, and much less so that our colleagues are dying in detention. And we cannot accept our assets are being looted.”
“It’s something we don’t take lightly because the needs are massive,” he said. “The humanitarian implications of this are deep and extensive … It’s clear the food security situation is deteriorating.”
Yemen has been torn by civil war for more than a decade. Houthi militants hold the capital Sanaa and much of the north and center of the country, where the majority of its population of nearly 40 million live. The internationally recognized government controls the south and west.
Throughout the war, Yemen has been threatened by hunger, nearly falling into full-fledged famine. The impoverished nation imports most of its food.
Skau said the WFP is seeking Houthi permission to distribute food that remains in other warehouses in the north. He said that if UN workers are released, it could resume programs distributing food to some 3 million people in Houthi-held areas.
The WFP is also providing food assistance to some 1.6 million people in southern Yemen, areas controlled by the government and its allies.
But the organization has warned its programs there could be hurt after US President Donald Trump’s administration has cut off funding for WFP’s emergency programs in Yemen.
A WFP official said the organization was reducing its staff in Yemen, and that around 200 employees – 40 percent of its workforce – have been given a month’s notice. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel situation.
“We have now a challenge in the south when it comes to the funding,” Skau said. “But we’re hoping that that can be resolved moving forward.”