US airstrikes on Yemen's Ras Isa oil port kill 74 people

US airstrikes targeting Ras Isa oil port in Yemen's Al Hudaydah province late Thursday have killed at least 74 people, including five health workers, the Houthi group's Al-Masirah TV channel reported Friday.

Al-Masirah TV reported that 171 others were injured in the US airstrike, noting that the figures remain preliminary as rescue operations continue at the site.

Earlier, Al-Masirah TV said that "the American enemy carried out four airstrikes on the Ras Isa area," without specifying the exact targets or consequences of the strikes.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it destroyed the fuel port.

"Today, US 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," it wrote on X.

The operation aimed to degrade the Houthis economically and not to harm the people of Yemen, it said.

"The Iran-backed Houthis use fuel to sustain their military operations, as a weapon of control, and to benefit economically from embezzling the profits from the import. This fuel should be legitimately supplied to the people of Yemen," it said.

Civil defense and rescue teams continue efforts to extinguish the fire at the port and rescue the wounded following the attack.

US President Donald Trump said last month that he had ordered "decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthi group and later threatened to "completely annihilate them."

The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 51,000 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 18 months.

The group halted attacks when a ceasefire in Gaza was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas but resumed them after Israel renewed airstrikes on the enclave last month.