News - Yemen: Yemen's Government in Sana'a has affirmed that the United States’ targeting of the Ras Issa oil port in Al-Salif District, located in the western Yemeni province of Hodeidah, constitutes a new war crime that will not go unanswered.

In a statement on Friday, the government said, "This aggression is part of the ongoing American criminal campaign aimed at supporting the Zionist entity and enabling it to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people."

It emphasized that, "The targeting of the Ras Issa oil port is a full-fledged war crime, as the port is a civilian facility and not a military one," and stressed that, "The American statements attempting to justify this crime to the world are false, misleading, and will deceive no one."

The government added that this crime once again proves that the American enemy deliberately targets civilian sites and the country's resources, and that it is, "Further evidence exposing the falsehood of American claims about targeting military capabilities in Yemen."

It considered the attack on a vital service facility as evidence of the failure of the US aggression to impact Yemen’s military capabilities or halt Yemeni military support operations for Gaza.

The Government reaffirmed that the position of Yemen in supporting the Palestinian people is unwavering, principled, and steadfast, and that it will continue its support operations, which have succeeded 100 percent in halting Israeli navigation through the Red Sea.

It further stressed its "commitment to continuing all forms and types of support for the oppressed Palestinian people until the aggression on Gaza is stopped and the siege on its population is lifted. It emphasized Yemen’s legal right to self-defense and that this crime will not go unpunished.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Center for Human Rights strongly condemned on Friday the criminal American aggression targeting the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah.

In a statement, the center said that targeting civilian infrastructure, including Ras Issa, constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and conventions. It described the attack as a full-fledged crime against humanity and part of a broader pattern of assaults on factories and civilian service facilities.

The center called on the international community, the United Nations, and international legal bodies to take immediate action to stop the aggression and prosecute American leaders as war criminals before the appropriate courts.

On Thursday night, US forces carried out 14 airstrikes on the Ras Issa port in Hodeidah, a facility used for receiving imported oil containers.

The Health Office in Hodeidah reported that the number of martyrs and injured from the US aggression on the Ras Issa oil facility has risen to 38 martyrs and over 100 wounded, according to a still-incomplete toll.

Local sources told Al-Masirah Net that American warplanes conducted 14 strikes targeting the Ras Issa port, resulting in the martyrdom of several workers there.

The sources added that the aggression resumed targeting the site while civil defense teams were attempting to rescue victims, leading to the martyrdom and injury of several civil defense personnel.

According to the Hodeidah Health Office, medical teams are exerting great efforts to treat the injured, many of whom suffered burns and injuries from the brutal American attack on the Ras Issa facility.

This American escalation further exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe facing Yemeni civilians, especially as the US has failed to achieve military success and is now making desperate attempts to pressure Yemen to halt its support for Gaza.

The US air launched a campaign against Yemen began on March 15, 2025, following Yemen's decision to resume retaliatory attacks on Israel in response to Israel's intensified operations in Gaza. Since the initiation of the airstrikes, US forces have targeted civilian infrastructure throughout Yemen, including communication networks, power plants, and water reservoirs, on an almost daily basis.

Washington justifies its airstrikes by claiming they are aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the waters around Yemen. However, Yemen has rejected these claims, stating that its military operations are specifically directed against Israeli-linked vessels and not international shipping.