A Pentagon review said US forces killed 153 civilians and injured another 243 in strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen during 2025. The casualties occurred in three strikes in April 2025, according to the review. The attacks were carried out in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and at the Houthi-controlled Ras Isa fuel port.

The strike on Ras Isa port was the deadliest, killing 80 people and injuring 171. The US military had said the attack aimed to stop the Houthis’ fuel supply and revenue sources. After analysing intelligence, satellite and other imagery, and open-source information, the Pentagon review said civilians were likely harmed in the three strikes.

The Pentagon decided that compensation or condolence payments were not needed for the families of those killed and injured, without explaining the reason in the report. The 2025 toll was sharply higher than 2024, when the Pentagon reported two civilian deaths and two injuries in US operations. US Central Command is still reviewing 15 further civilian-casualty allegations, meaning the Yemen toll could rise.

A Pentagon report to the US Congress said 153 civilians were killed and another 243 were injured in US air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen during 2025. The figures were reported by The Hill, citing Pentagon documents, and were published in the source article on August 12, 2026. The 12-page report attributed the casualties to three specific strikes during a military operation in April 2025.

According to the report, a strike on the capital, Sanaa, on April 6 killed five civilians. A subsequent attack on the Ras Isa port on April 17 killed 80 people. Another air strike near Saada on April 28 killed 47 people. The Pentagon report said the three incidents together accounted for 153 civilian deaths, while the reported 243 injuries were also linked to those strikes.

The Pentagon said 15 additional incidents connected to the military operation remain under review. Investigations into possible civilian casualties in those cases are continuing, according to the report. The source did not provide further details about the incidents under review or their potential casualty totals.

At least two crew members were killed in an attack on a cargo ship near the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen’s southern coast, British maritime security agency Vanguard said. The report, published on August 11, 2026, identified the dead as one Pakistani and one Indonesian national. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

AFP, citing a Yemeni coast guard source, reported that Iran-backed Houthis attacked the vessel at the entrance to the Red Sea. The source said the remaining crew members were rescued. A second source confirmed the incident to AFP and said the ship was targeted again while the rescue operation was under way.

Vanguard said Yemeni naval forces moved to assist the vessel after the attack, but they were also fired upon, resulting in casualties. The report did not provide the ship’s name, its ownership, the timing of the attack, or the extent of damage to the vessel.

At least 11 people, including eight military personnel and three civilians, were killed in Houthi attacks on Yemen’s government-controlled port city of Mokha. Medical sources said 32 others were injured, including six civilians, according to a report published on August 10. All civilian casualties were reported to have resulted from strikes on Mokha port.

Two Yemeni government military sources had earlier said at least eight soldiers were killed and more than 40 military personnel were wounded. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used missiles and drones to target what he called “Saudi enemy” troops and military equipment in the area.

Government military sources said the Houthis carried out several rounds of missile and drone strikes in Mokha. They also targeted positions and facilities of pro-government forces outside the city, as well as several islands near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. One military source said Saudi troops were stationed at some targeted sites, but no Saudi military casualties were reported. Residents said they heard loud explosions, with one reporting six successive blasts at the port.

Houthi missile and drone attacks killed 58 Yemeni government soldiers and injured many others, according to military sources cited in a report published on August 7. The sources described the strikes as Yemen’s deadliest single-day attack in four years.

Yemeni military officials said the attacks took place on Thursday at military camps in Al-Ruwayk in Marib province and Al-Abr and Al-Wadiya in Hadramawt near the Saudi border. At least 45 people were killed together when a missile struck a camp in Marib during a morning troop gathering.

The Houthis said the attacks were retaliation for what they called a Saudi-backed military buildup. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said ballistic missiles and drones targeted government military positions, naming Al-Ruwayk, Al-Thaniyah and Al-Abr among the affected areas. Saudi officials also said at least 11 civilians were injured in Houthi attacks in the southern Saudi area of Najran.

Separate attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed at least 30 soldiers from Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the central and eastern provinces of Marib and Hadramout, according to government officials cited by the Associated Press on Thursday. More than 50 soldiers were wounded in the attacks, which targeted several military bases.

The officials confirmed the casualty figures on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Yemen’s military also confirmed that Houthi forces had attacked military bases, but did not release specific casualty figures. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the attacks.

The Houthi group said, without providing details, that it would soon issue an official statement on a major military operation. The clashes were described as the largest since an informal truce took effect in April 2022 and as a major deterioration in Yemen’s security situation. Yemen has been in civil war since 2014, while the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government.

Yemen’s Houthi group said it has attacked eight Saudi oil tankers since the start of a maritime blockade, according to a statement by its military spokesperson reported on August 5. The spokesperson said the latest attack targeted a Saudi oil tanker named Wafa, with several ballistic missiles launched at the vessel.

The spokesperson claimed the strike hit its target “accurately.” The report did not provide information on damage, casualties, the tanker’s condition, or any response from Saudi Arabia. The claim was presented as part of the group’s account of operations following the blockade.

According to the spokesperson, the attack was part of efforts to enforce a declared maritime blockade by Yemen’s armed forces. He said the blockade began on July 22 and that eight Saudi oil tankers had been attacked since then. He also claimed that 29 Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea had been prevented from reaching their destinations and forced to turn back during the same period.

An Indian-flagged vessel, MSV Faize Nuri Olie, sank in the Red Sea after coming under attack 13 nautical miles from Yemen’s Hodeidah port, NDTV reported on Tuesday. The ship capsized after the attack and later went under. Hodeidah is currently controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The vessel had 14 crew members: 13 Indians and one Yemeni national. Yemen’s internationally recognised government’s National Resistance Force said its coast guard naval units carried out a joint rescue operation and brought all crew members to safety alive.

India strongly condemned the incident, saying its flagged vessel had been attacked without any provocation. Days earlier, the Houthi rebels announced a blockade in the Red Sea, saying they would not allow Saudi cargo ships to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the Red Sea.

A senior member of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, Hizam al-Assad, said US President Donald Trump had again been forced to retreat because of fear of Iran’s military strength. In remarks reported on August 3, 2026, al-Assad mocked what he described as Trump’s hollow threats against Iran and repeated retreats.

In a post on X, al-Assad said Trump’s understanding of a reality had compelled him to take a path of “peace.” He claimed the US military situation had become fragile, its bases had been destroyed, and its air-defence capability had declined.

Al-Assad further claimed Iran retained a strong ability to inflict significant damage on the Israeli ruling establishment, US assets and interests, and the region’s energy infrastructure and resources. He said that when the cost of conflict rises, the language of threats turns into the language of peace. The report did not include independent verification of these claims or a response from US officials.

Yemen's armed Houthi group said it had forced at least eight Saudi Arabian oil tankers to change course, according to its military spokesperson Yahya Saree. Saree confirmed the claim but did not specify when the reported diversion occurred or provide further details about the tankers.

In a statement, Saree said the group’s blockade operations against what he called Saudi enemies were continuing. He said the armed forces would reach Saudi vessels wherever possible. The Houthis had previously announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20.

The group has also formally rejected recent media reports that it would collect fees or taxes from commercial ships passing through the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait. No additional information was provided on the claimed tanker course changes or the alleged blockade operation.

Yemen’s armed Houthi group has categorically denied reports that it is imposing tariffs on commercial ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea. The group described information circulating in international media outlets and digital platforms as baseless, according to a report published on August 1, 2026.

The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center said in a statement that vessel transit through the strait remains completely free of charge. The center is responsible for the group’s maritime communications and matters related to ship movement.

The statement further said that all commercial vessels exempt from, or outside, the scope of the Houthis’ declared restrictions can travel through the waterway in complete safety. The report noted that the group announced a formal naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20, describing it as a response to blockades and military attacks over the past several years.

Yemen’s Ansarullah movement leader Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi alleged that Saudi Arabia used “all its power” to protect Israel from drones and missiles launched from Yemen. In a Thursday speech reported on July 31, he said Saudi Arabia had attempted to intercept the attacks and had downed some Yemeni missiles and drones directed at Israel.

Al-Houthi said Yemen had informed Riyadh that the flight paths of its drones and missiles would be set outside Saudi airspace. He claimed Yemeni drones deliberately avoided Saudi airspace so that Saudi Arabia would have no pretext to attack, but alleged that Saudi forces nevertheless tried to intercept them. He also said many Arab governments had moved toward pro-Israel policies.

In the same address, al-Houthi condemned what he described as US and Saudi aggression against Iraq and expressed solidarity with Iraq’s people, security forces, fighters and families of martyrs. He claimed the United States and Israel sought to weaken or eliminate forces in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and elsewhere in the region that they regard as obstacles to their plans.

Saudi Arabia is preparing for a major military operation against Yemen’s Houthi rebels to break a blockade on its oil exports in the southern Red Sea, Yemeni sources said. The operation could be conducted by sea in central Yemen and, if possible, by land. Saudi forces have been seen withdrawing from eastern Yemen, a move believed to be linked to preparations for a ground operation.

Riyadh is also stepping up efforts to form a multinational naval coalition to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that 14 countries, including Bangladesh, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, backed the proposal in a joint statement. Riyadh has invited the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Italy to join.

The Houthis announced a maritime blockade against Saudi ships on July 20 and said they would lift it only if Saudi Arabia ended its blockade on Yemen. Yemeni sources said Saudi forces are gathering to retake al-Bayda province, seized by the Houthis in 2020-21. A deal mediated by Oman and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could reduce tensions in Yemen, according to the report.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they downed a Saudi Arabian surveillance drone over Saada province on Wednesday morning. The group described the aircraft as a Saudi drone and said it was brought down in the skies above the northern Yemeni province.

Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Houthi military wing, said in a Telegram statement that the drone was a “Karayel” model. He said the aircraft had been conducting hostile activity over Saada province when it was targeted by Houthi forces.

Saree said the Houthis would continue to defend Yemen’s sovereignty. He added that the group would take retaliatory measures against any attempt to violate that sovereignty, describing such action as its legitimate right.

A source from Yemen’s Houthi movement, Ansarullah, claimed that Yemeni armed forces targeted three Saudi oil tankers in the Bab al-Mandab Strait over the past 48 hours. The report was published on July 27, 2026. The source did not provide details on damage, the identities of the vessels, or the precise timing of the alleged attacks.

According to the source, a maritime blockade that took effect on Monday has led at least 16 Saudi-linked ships to turn back without crossing the strait. It also said that no Saudi oil tanker has been able to pass through the strategic waterway since the blockade began. The source said restrictions on Saudi vessels remain in force and that no ship would be permitted to cross.

Separately, Ansarullah military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed that a Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci armed surveillance drone belonging to Saudi Arabia was shot down while operating over Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. He said any attempt to violate Yemen’s sovereignty would be countered. The claims were reported with Palestine Chronicles cited as the source.