News - Yemen: The Insan Organization for Rights and Freedoms issued a report regarding the US airstrike targeting the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah in mid-April 2025.

The report, titled "The Ras Issa Massacre: An American War Crime in the Heart of the Red Sea," documented the US airstrike on Ras Issa port, describing it as a blatant violation of international law and US law itself. It also condemned the misleading of public opinion regarding the nature of the operation, viewing it as a clear manifestation of power and dominance over developing nations.

The detailed report documented the crime, outlining the specifics of the attack, the number of casualties, and the extensive destruction of the operational infrastructure at Ras Issa port, which has led to an almost complete shutdown of its activities. The report emphasized that the targeting was deliberate, aiming to worsen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

It presented evidence and direct testimonies from workers and victims, along with legal analyses illustrating how the attack qualifies as a "war crime" that warrants international accountability.

The organization stated that “on the evening of Thursday, April 17, 2025, and following orders from US President Donald Trump, the United States launched around 14 airstrikes on Ras Issa oil port, located on the Red Sea in the Al-Salif district of Hodeidah governorate in Yemen.”

The report explained that the assault completely destroyed the port’s key infrastructure and rendered it inoperable. It also targeted oil and gas transport trucks, resulting in dozens of casualties—including both deaths and injuries—among facility workers, gas company employees, truck drivers, and humanitarian workers, including medics and civil defense personnel attempting to assist in the area.

It noted that the attack occurred in two waves. The first wave caused many deaths and injuries among workers and drivers and ignited widespread fires. The second wave targeted ambulance and fire crews as they arrived to retrieve victims and extinguish the fires, as well as those injured in the first attack—constituting a premeditated and deliberate act of murder. The massacre claimed the lives of 80 civilians and injured 150 more.

Insan stressed that this crime consists of multiple components, the most significant being the direct killing of civilians while performing their duties, and the targeting of vital infrastructure essential to daily civilian life.

The report highlighted that targeting civilians is considered an act of genocide and a war crime. Targeting vital infrastructure is also classified as a war crime under the Rome Statute and Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

The American airstrikes also caused severe damage to Yemen’s economy, affecting civilians’ lives. The port’s shutdown will halt maritime traffic and intensify the humanitarian crisis, compounding the suffering of the Yemeni people who have lived under siege for over 10 years.

The effects of the attack go beyond the port itself, impacting several critical sectors: electricity (affecting homes, factories, etc.), agriculture, and water systems—since fuel is required to pump water to homes and farms—as well as hospitals and health centers that struggle to maintain energy supplies. This raises medical service costs and may hinder their delivery entirely.

The human rights organization underscored the urgent need to end the culture of impunity that enables the recurrence of such grave violations.

The US airstrike on Ras Issa port, which killed over 80 civilians and injured 160 others, is part of a wider American military campaign launched in March 2025 after Yemen resumed strikes on Israel over its assault on Gaza.

Since then, US attacks have repeatedly targeted Yemen’s civilian infrastructure, worsening the humanitarian crisis. Washington claims the strikes protect maritime navigation, but Yemeni authorities insist their actions only target Israeli-linked vessels.