U.S. strikes on oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels kill dozens, wound

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — U.S. airstrikes targeting the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 38 people and wounded 102 others, the group said early Friday.

The strikes, confirmed by the U.S. military’s Central Command, represent one of the highest reported death tolls so far in the campaign launched under President Trump that’s involved hundreds of strikes since March 15. The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said, causing sirens to sound in Tel Aviv and other areas.

The war in Yemen meanwhile further internationalized as the U.S. alleged a Chinese satellite company was “directly supporting” Houthi attacks, something Beijing didn’t immediately acknowledge.

The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack on Ras Isa port, showing corpses strewn across the site. It said paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.

 In a statement, Central Command said “U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.”

“This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,” it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed.

The Ras Isa port, a collection of three oil tanks and refining equipment, sits in Yemen’s Hodeida governorate along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that track forest fires showed an intense blaze early Friday morning at the site just off Kamaran Island, targeted by intense U.S. airstrikes over the last few days.

The Ras Isa port also is the terminus of an oil pipeline stretching to Yemen’s energy-rich Marib governorate that’s still held by allies of Yemen’s exiled government. The Houthis expelled that government…