- By Ajeet Kumar
- Fri, 18 Apr 2025 04:16 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
US strikes on a fuel port in Yemen killed at least 58 people, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said, one of the deadliest since the United States began its attacks on the Iran-backed militants. The United States has vowed not to halt the large-scale strikes begun last month in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January, unless the Houthis cease attacks on Red Sea shipping. Al Masirah TV said 126 people were also wounded in Thursday's strikes on the western fuel port of Ras Isa, which the US military said aimed to cut off a source of fuel for the Houthi militant group.
Houthis attack on ships
"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," it had said in a post on X. Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on vessels transiting the waterway, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in protest over the war in Gaza. They halted attacks on shipping lanes during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. Although they vowed to resume strikes after Israel renewed its assault on Gaza last month, they have not claimed any since. In March, two days of US attacks killed more than 50 people, Houthi officials said.
Outlandishg
The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as "outlandish" in a post on the social media platform Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group's positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.
Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea. The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave. Israel's Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.
The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma'in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.
(With inputs from agencies)