Key Takeaways
A Pentagon review sent to Congress found US strikes targeting Yemen's Houthis killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 in 2025, up from two civilian deaths recorded in 2024.
All of the recorded harm came from three April 2025 strikes, including the April 17 attack on the Ras Isa fuel port that killed 80 people and injured 171.
The review concluded condolence payments to victims' families were not appropriate, and US Central Command was still reviewing 15 additional incidents as of February.
The Pentagon has told Congress that US military strikes targeting Yemen's Houthis killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 more in 2025, a sharp jump from the two civilian deaths the department recorded in 2024. The unclassified assessment, part of the Pentagon's annual civilian casualty report, was first reported by NBC News and obtained by the Associated Press this week.
Every recorded death came from three strikes in April 2025. The deadliest hit the Ras Isa fuel port on April 17, killing 80 people and injuring 171. An April 28 strike killed 68 people in the country's northwest, including migrants held at a detention site. Rights advocates count both among the deadliest US strikes anywhere since 2001. The review concluded the three attacks "more likely than not" caused civilian harm, based on US intelligence, imagery and open-source reporting.
US Central Command said at the time that the Ras Isa attack was aimed at cutting off fuel and revenue for the Houthis. "The strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen," CENTCOM said after the April 2025 attack. The review also determined that condolence payments to victims' families were not appropriate, and it did not explain why. As of February, the command was still reviewing 15 more incidents reported by nongovernmental organizations.
The accounting lands at a moment when the Pentagon office tasked with limiting civilian harm has been reduced in size, according to the AP, and it leaves out the administration's boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have killed more than 200 people since September 2025 by the government's own running announcements. A count that jumps from 2 to 153 in a single year is worth sitting with.
The Red Sea campaign sits inside the same shipping and energy shock that pushed the IMF to cut 2026 global growth to 3 percent, a squeeze that lands hardest on food prices. And as Colombia's earthquake count showed again this week, official tolls tend to be the floor, not the final number.
People Also Ask
How many civilians were killed by US strikes in Yemen in 2025?
The Pentagon's unclassified assessment recorded 153 civilians killed and 243 wounded in 2025, all from three strikes in April. That compares with two civilian deaths the department recorded across its operations in 2024.
What was the deadliest US strike in Yemen last year?
The April 17, 2025 strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed 80 people and injured 171. Rights advocates rank it among the deadliest US strikes anywhere since 2001.
Will the US pay compensation to the victims' families?
The review concluded condolence payments were not appropriate and did not explain why. Such payments are not required under US law, though they have been offered after past incidents like the 2021 Kabul drone strike.
Does the report cover the US boat strikes in the Caribbean?
No. The assessment covers Yemen operations and excludes the strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have killed more than 200 people since September 2025 according to figures announced after each strike.