Pentagon admits US airstrikes in Yemen killed 153 civilians

The Pentagon has announced in a report submitted to Congress that US strikes in Yemen last year killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others, US media report.

According to an internal US Department of Defense report, the 12-page document was sent to the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday.

It said some of the attacks "most likely" caused civilian casualties, including the attack on Sanaa on April 6, which killed five civilians and injured 25 others.

The report also singles out the US attack on Hodeidah on April 17, which, according to the Pentagon, killed at least 80 civilians. Human Rights Watch said in a report published in June that the attack should be investigated as a possible war crime, AP reports.

The organization's researcher for Yemen and Bahrain, Niku Jafarnia, said that the US government's decision to attack the port of Ras Issa, a key point for aid entry into Yemen, at a time when hundreds of workers were there, shows a callous disregard for civilian lives.

US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on the Houthi rebels in March 2025 after the group attacked ships in the Red Sea, claiming it was in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. In late April, a US airstrike in the northwestern province of Saada also killed at least 68 African migrants.

The Pentagon said 15 other incidents related to these airstrikes were still under review. More than 1,000 US strikes failed to permanently stop the Houthis, and the campaign was suspended in May 2025, ahead of Trump's visit to the Persian Gulf.

According to Middle East Eye, Saudi Arabia had asked Washington to stop the attacks before this visit, while regional officials assessed that the impact of the attacks on the Houthi military arsenal was severe but short-lived. /Telegraph