HR Watch: Israel’s July attacks on the port of Hodeidah in Yemen are a “possible war crime”

Israeli airstrikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah last month appear to be an indiscriminate and disproportionate attack on civilians that may amount to a war crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

Israel said its warplanes attacked Houthi military targets near Hodeidah on July 20.

The attack targeted oil facilities and a power plant. HRW said at least six people were killed and at least 80 injured.

The incident came a day after a Houthi drone attacked Israel's economic hub Tel Aviv, killing one person, which HRW said could also constitute a war crime.

The Israeli retaliatory strikes on Hodeidah hit more than two dozen oil storage tanks and two ship cranes at the port, as well as a power plant in the province's Salif district, Human Rights Watch said.

“The attacks appeared to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects. Serious violations of the laws of war committed intentionally, that is, knowingly or recklessly, are war crimes.” Analyzed satellite images showed that the oil tanks burned for at least three days, which raises environmental concerns, according to the HRW report. The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not initially comment.

Hodeidah, which has been under Houthis' control since 2021, is crucial for supplying food and other essential goods to Yemen's import-dependent population. About 70 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and 80 percent of humanitarian aid pass through the port.

In response to the Israeli attack on Gaza, the Houthis have fired rockets and drones at Israel and disrupted global trade across the Red Sea, contributing to further destabilization of the Middle East while war continues in the Palestinian enclave ten months later.

Israel says the Houthis have launched 200 attacks on the country since the Gaza war began, many of which have been intercepted and most of which have not had fatal consequences.

But a rare Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv on July 19 prompted Israel to announce its first strikes against the group the next day.

The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, said it would continue attacking Israel in response.