The death toll from the US attack on the Ras Issa oil port now stands at 20,” Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said, adding: “Five rescue workers and paramedics died… while carrying out their duties” as “American aggression struck the oil port again,” after the US military said it had hit the port.
The attack on the Ras Issa fuel port aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Houthis, the US military said.
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 Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis began their attacks in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“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,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“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,” CENTCOM said.
Ships “have continued to supply fuel via the port of Ras Issa” despite Washington designating the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year, the military command added, without specifying the source of the fuel.
In a social media post, Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said that “13 workers and employees at the Ras Issa port were killed and 30 others injured in the American aggression on the port.”
The port lies along the west coast of Yemen on the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks have prevented ships from passing 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 the Biden administration, and President Donald Trump has vowed that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.
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