Satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone shows substantial damage at the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa in Yemen from Thursday’s U.S. airstrike. However, no vessels seem too badly damaged in the attack, based on the photos, although what could be an oil slick is seen emanating from the shore. You can read more about the strike in our initial story here.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday’s strike was intended to cut off the Houthis’ fuel supply because the Iranian-backed group uses it to “sustain their military operations, as a weapon of control, and to benefit economically from embezzling the profits from the import.”
The images we obtained, taken April 18, show several oil storage tanks totally destroyed, a jetty cratered and fuel truck parking areas and other groupings of smaller objects hit.
Video taken today shows a ground view of the devastation at the port. You can see the fuel storage tanks as well as numerous fuel trucks destroyed.
Ships, however, appear to have gone unscathed.
The Ambrey maritime security firm told us that it “received a report from a vessel anchored at Ras Isa, Yemen, stating that multiple explosions occurred in the port at 11 p.m. local time. The Master confirmed no damage to any vessels in the area, and port authorities have instructed all vessels to remain at anchorage.”
Ambrey provided us with several photos of the attack taken from a ship in port at the time. That vessel was not a company client.
Video also emerged taken aboard the Galaxy Leader, a Bahamian-flagged vehicle carrier that the Houthis hijacked during a daring helicopter raid in the fall of 2023.
Despite CENTCOM’s stated objective, one Middle East analyst told us that the facility’s tanks had no fuel because Israel had gone after the facility before. The IAF launched its first attack on Yemen last June, hitting the oil storage facility a day after the Iranian-backed group carried out its first lethal strike on Israel in Tel Aviv.
“Since the IDF strikes, they emptied all the storage depots,” Mohammad Al-Basha of the Basha Report claimed. In addition, he said that Houthis have built up fuel reserves elsewhere in the wake of the Israeli attacks.
The explosions and flames seen in videos and still images are the result of fuel tank trucks being hit, he posited. Those vehicles link up directly with ships, he added.
We cannot confirm this assertion at this time and there were three seemingly intact large storage tanks at the facility before yesterday’s strike destroyed them.
Al-Basha also claimed that in addition to striking the fuel storage facility, CENTCOM was targeting Houthi Navy Commander Mansour Ahmed Al-Saadi, also known as Abu Sajad.
“He reportedly survived once again, though he was wounded and hospitalized following the second attack,” Al-Basha claimed on X. “His repeated survival is now elevating him to a near-mythical status among his soldiers and Houthi loyalists, reinforcing his image as a resilient and unshakable figure within the movement.”
The War Zone cannot independently verify these claims either. CENTCOM declined comment.
The strikes on Ras Isa are part of a renewed aerial offensive against the Houthis that President Donald Trump’s administration launched March 15. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said that “the campaign will be unrelenting” until the Iranian-backed Yemeni militants cease their attacks on commercial vessels and foreign warships in and around the Red Sea. U.S. Naval Forces, including two American aircraft carriers and cruise missile-armed warships, as well as land-based fighters based in the region and B-2 stealth bombers forward deployed to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, have been taking part in the operation.
Thursday airstrikes killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the Houthis claimed on Friday, “marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s new campaign targeting the rebels,” according to The Associated Press.
The war in Yemen, the wire service added, was “further internationalized as the U.S. alleged a Chinese satellite company was ‘directly supporting’ Houthi attacks, something Beijing declined to directly comment on Friday.”
Meanwhile, despite U.S. actions designed to stop Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel, the Yemen-based group continues to carry them out.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. In addition, the French Navy released a new video on Friday showing one of its frigates firing on what it says are Houthi aerial drones. The video shows the Aquitaine class FS Languedoc frigate using its 76mm Super Rapid deck gun, destroying at least one Houthi drone. Another one appeared to fly by the ship unmolested.
It is unclear at the moment exactly when or where this engagement took place or which vessel was involved. We’ve reached out to French officials for answers. If they come, we will update this story.
The action was carried out by the French Navy and not the European-led Operation Aspides, created to help protect Red Sea shipping. A spokesman for Aspides told us that the last time one of its warships defended against a Houthi attack was Nov. 18, 2024, “when an Aspides asset engaged and destroyed a UAV posing a threat to the freedom of navigation.”
The new U.S. campaign against the Houthis has not changed the operation’s mission, said Maj. Socrates Ravanos.
“We would like to stress that Aspides’ posture remains the same, regardless of the airstrikes made by the US forces,” he explained. “EUNAVFOR Aspides is a purely defensive operation that acts according to International Law and contributes to the Freedom of Navigation without conducting any strikes on land. Furthermore, the operation is monitoring the situation in its Area of Operation, making daily assessments and providing critical information to the shipping community…”
The U.S. campaign against the Houthis comes amid an ongoing civil war in Yemen. Militants in that country opposed to the Houthis are “planning a ground offensive” against the group “in an attempt to take advantage of a U.S. bombing campaign that has degraded the militant group’s capabilities,” Yemeni and U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
“The Yemeni factions are sensing an opportunity to oust the Houthis from at least parts of the Red Sea coast they have controlled in the decade since they took power over much of the country’s northwest,” the officials told the publication. “Private American security contractors provided advice to the Yemeni factions on a potential ground operation, people involved in the planning said. The United Arab Emirates, which supports these factions, raised the plan with American officials in recent weeks, the U.S. and Yemeni officials said.”
If such an operation were put into effect and was effective, combined with the U.S. strikes, it could severely degrade the Houthi’s capabilities further. This would be a loss to Iran who is the Houthi’s benefactor and has supplied them with weaponry and know-how throughout the decade-long fight in Yemen. It’s worth noting that the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia tried to dislodge the Houthis for years, but were unsuccessful. A major blow to the Houthis would come after a horrible year for Iran’s proxy forces abroad, with Syria falling, Hezbollah gutted, and Hamas severely degraded.
All this is taking place against the backdrop of ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran over the Islamic nation’s nuclear program.
On Thursday, Trump said he was in no rush to approve strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Those comments, made during a White House press conference, came a day after a New York Times story claimed Trump had quashed an Israeli proposal for a joint attack next month.
“Trump’s partial confirmation of the Times report came as Iranian and allied officials prepared for a second round of talks with the U.S. on Saturday aimed at reaching a diplomatic agreement surrounding the Iranian nuclear program,” the Times of Israel reported on Friday. “Oman confirmed on Thursday that the talks would take place in Rome, putting to bed earlier Iranian claims that the talks would again be held in Muscat.”
The world is watching nervously as these negotiations take place. A U.S. strike against Iran, which has been avoided at all costs for decades, would send the region into unprecedented turmoil.
In the meantime, clearly the U.S. is escalating its air campaign, with yesterday’s bomb damage to show for it.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com