Yemen: Israeli attack on Hodeidah port was a “potential war crime”

Israeli airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah last month could constitute a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

The rights group described the attacks as potentially “unlawful, indiscriminate or disproportionate” and said they were likely to affect the country's civilian population.

Israel has carried out airstrikes on the Yemeni city after a drone launched by the country's Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, struck central Tel Aviv, killing one person.

The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most of northern and western Yemen, have launched drone attacks on Israel in response to the ongoing military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“Serious violations of the laws of war that are committed intentionally, that is, knowingly or recklessly, are war crimes,” HRW said.

For millions of Yemenis, Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for access to food and humanitarian aid.

“The Israeli attacks on Hodeidah in response to the Houthis’ attack on Tel Aviv could have lasting effects on millions of Yemenis in Houthis-controlled areas,” said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW.

“After decades of conflict, Yemenis are already suffering from widespread hunger. These attacks will only worsen their suffering,” Jafarnia added.

The country has been in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa, triggering a military intervention by neighboring Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 2022, there has been relative calm following peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

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The Israeli attacks hit two dozen oil tanks, two ship cranes and a power plant. At least six people were killed in the attack and at least 80 were injured.

Nasruddin Amer, a spokesman for the Houthi movement, called the attacks “a brutal act of aggression against Yemen aimed at worsening the suffering of the population and pressuring Yemen to stop its support for Gaza.”

There is no evidence of a Houthi military presence in the port.

In addition to the drone attacks, the Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea that they suspect are linked to Israel.

The US and its allies responded militarily to this campaign and launched air strikes on Houthi positions in the country.

The Israeli military has said it has deployed “military targets” at the port and claimed they were used to house Iranian weapons, but Tel Aviv has not provided any information to substantiate these claims.