United States military strikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis killed 153 civilians last year and wounded another 243, according to a recent Pentagon assessment of the attacks. These figures were disclosed by a US official on Tuesday, citing the review, which determined that all civilian deaths and injuries recorded by the US military in 2025 originated from three specific strikes conducted in Yemen during April.
The unclassified assessment was submitted to the US Congress as part of the Pentagon’s annual report on civilian casualties. It was obtained by the Associated Press after NBC News reported on its contents earlier. A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the report publicly, stated that the department would formally submit the findings in the coming months.
These numbers mark a sharp increase from 2024, when the Pentagon assessed that US military operations killed two civilians and injured two others. The three strikes in question targeted Houthi forces in and around the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, as well as the Ras Isa fuel port.
The attack on Ras Isa was the deadliest, killing 80 people and injuring 171. The strike sent huge fireballs into the sky and left tanker trucks burning at the port. The Houthis later aired footage of the aftermath on their Al-Masirah television channel, showing bodies scattered across the site.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, stated at the time that the attack was aimed at cutting off a source of fuel and revenue for the Houthis. “The strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen,” CENTCOM said following the April 2025 attack, adding that US forces took action to eliminate fuel sources for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists to deprive them of illegal revenue used to fund regional instability.
Despite these stated objectives, the Pentagon review ultimately determined that the three strikes “more likely than not” resulted in civilian harm, based on an analysis of US intelligence, imagery, and open-source reporting. The report also found that condolence payments to the victims or their families were not appropriate, though it did not provide a specific explanation for this decision.
Such payments are not required under US law and do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing, yet they have been offered following previous operations. For instance, after a 2021 US drone strike in Afghanistan mistakenly killed 10 people, including seven children, the Pentagon expressed a commitment to providing condolence payments to the survivors. The final toll from the US campaign in Yemen could still grow, as CENTCOM was reviewing another 15 incidents as of February following reports of civilian casualties submitted by nongovernmental organisations.
These findings emerge as civilian deaths from US military operations face renewed scrutiny under President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, a US missile struck a primary school in Iran during the opening days of the US-Israel war on Iran, killing as many as 168 people. Furthermore, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly reduced the size of a Pentagon office tasked with limiting civilian harm.
The US military first began striking Houthi targets in Yemen under former President Joe Biden in 2023, after the group began launching drones and missiles at commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis maintained that their attacks were aimed at pressuring Israel over its war in Gaza and supporting Palestinians. The US campaign intensified after Trump returned to office in 2025, with Washington stating its attacks were aimed at degrading the Houthis’ military capabilities and protecting Red Sea shipping.
The Pentagon’s assessment does not include casualties from the Trump administration’s strikes on boats it accuses of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Those separate attacks have killed more than 200 people since September 2025, according to a tally of deaths announced after each strike. The Trump administration has described those targeted as “narco-terrorists,” while groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have characterised the strikes as unlawful extrajudicial killings. The American Civil Liberties Union has also labelled the administration’s claims regarding those targeted as “unsubstantiated.”