Yemen: Hodeidah port attack by Israel was a 'potential war crime'
Last month's Israeli air strikes on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah could constitute a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
The rights group described the attacks as potentially "unlawful, indiscriminate or disproportionate", and said they were likely to impact civilians in the country.
Israel carried out air strikes on the Yemeni city after a drone launched by the country's Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, hit central Tel Aviv, killing one person.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most of northern and western Yemen, have been launching drone attacks towards Israel in response to its ongoing military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza.
"Serious violations of the laws of war committed wilfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes,” HRW said.
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Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for millions of Yemenis to access food and humanitarian aid.
“The Israeli attacks on Hodeidah in response to the Houthis’ strike on Tel Aviv could have a lasting impact on millions of Yemenis in Houthi-controlled territories,” said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW.
“Yemenis are already enduring widespread hunger after a decade-long conflict. These attacks will only exacerbate their suffering,” Jafarnia added.
The country has been in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa, prompting military intervention by neighbouring Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Since 2022, there has been relative calm after peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
The Israeli strikes hit two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes, as well as a power plant. At least six were killed and at least 80 people were injured in the attack.
Nasruddin Amer, a spokesman for the Houthi movement, described the strikes as "a brutal act of aggression against Yemen aimed at worsening the suffering of its people and pressuring Yemen to halt its support for Gaza."
There is no evidence of a Houthi military presence in the port.
In addition to drone attacks, the Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea they suspect of being linked to Israel.
That campaign has drawn a military response from the US and its allies, which has launched air strikes on Houthi positions in the country.
The Israeli military has said it stuck “military targets” in the port, claiming that was used to receive Iranian weapons. Tel Aviv, however, has not provided information to substantiate these claims.
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