A Pentagon review sent to Congress found three April 2025 airstrikes against Houthi positions — including one on Ras Isa port that killed 80 people — resulted in 153 civilian deaths and 243 injuries. The report determined condolence payments to victims were not appropriate, without explaining why.
US airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last year resulted in the deaths of over 150 civilians, according to a Pentagon assessment released on Wednesday.
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The Pentagon review, which was sent to Congress as part of an annual report on civilian casualties, focused on three airstrikes in April 2025 conducted in response to the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route that connects the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
The US strikes targeted hostile forces in or near Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a as well as the Ras Isa port. A total of 153 civilians were killed, and 243 were injured, according to the report.
The strike on the port was the most deadly, killing 80 people and injuring 171 others. At the time, the Houthis published graphic footage of the aftermath on their al-Masirah satellite news channel, showing casualties in the port.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said at the time that the “strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”
“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 terrorise the entire region for over 10 years,” CENTCOM said in its statement.
The command determined that the three strikes “more likely than not” resulted in civilian harm, the review said. The information was based on US intelligence sources, imagery and open-source reporting.
Concerns have continued to grow among US lawmakers and human rights groups over civilian casualties in military operations during US President Donald Trump's second term, after a US missile struck a primary school in Minab in the opening days of the Iran war, killing up to 168 people.
Condolence payments to victims
The Pentagon review also considered whether condolence payments should be made to victims or their families, but determined that they were not appropriate in the three cases. The review did not explain why.
The payments are one option available to the US military when civilians are killed or injured during military operations. They are not required by law and do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.
The US has made similar payments in previous cases. After a US drone strike in Afghanistan in 2021 mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including seven children, the Pentagon said it was committed to offering condolence payments to the victims' relatives.
The Houthis, which are part of Iran's loose network of proxies Tehran calls "Axis of Resistance," said the attacks on ships in the Red Sea that led to the US strikes were in support of Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The group has since threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the entrance to the Red Sea to global shipping, while reports emerged that it is also mulling introducing a transit fee following consultations with Tehran.
The Strait of Hormuz — another crucial global shipping chokepoint — has been nearly completely shut to cargo vessel traffic since the beginning of the Iran war in late February.
A simultaneous closure of both straits would affect roughly one third of global oil trade.