In the long and troubled ledger of modern warfare, the United States military has now entered a formal acknowledgment: three strikes in Yemen in April 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 more, the deadliest of them erasing 80 lives at a coastal fuel port in a single moment. The Pentagon's own review, submitted to Congress, determined these casualties were 'more likely than not' caused by American action — yet declined to offer condolence payments, a quiet departure from past practice that speaks volumes about how accountability is being measured. As the Trump administration expands milit
Pentagon review confirms 153 civilian deaths from US Yemen strikes in 2025
153 civilians killed and 243 wounded across three US military strikes in Yemen in April 2025, with the deadliest attack at Ras Isa fuel port killing 80 people.
More likely than not resulted in civilian harm, but no condolences warranted
Mark
Why does the Pentagon acknowledge civilian harm but decline to pay condolences?
Mimi
The review found the strikes "more likely than not" caused civilian deaths, but the military made a separate judgment that payments weren't appropriate. They didn't explain that reasoning. It's a distinction without much practical difference for the families.
Mark
How does 153 deaths in one year compare to what we've seen before?
Mimi
It's a dramatic jump. In 2024, the Pentagon counted two civilian deaths from Yemen operations. This year it's 153 from three strikes in April alone. The Ras Isa port strike alone killed 80 people.
Mark
Was the military targeting civilians?
Mimi
No. CENTCOM said the strikes aimed at Houthi fuel supplies and military capabilities. But the Pentagon's own review concluded the civilian deaths were foreseeable enough that they should have been anticipated.
Mark
What happens with the 15 other incidents under review?
Mimi
Those could add more civilian casualties to the 2025 count. Right now we're looking at what the military itself documented. But NGOs have reported other incidents that CENTCOM is still investigating.
Mark
Does this change anything about how the US operates in Yemen?
Mimi
That's unclear. The review is public now, Congress will receive it formally, but there's no indication the military is changing its strike protocols. The Trump administration has actually expanded operations—not just in Yemen but in the Caribbean and Pacific against suspected drug traffickers.
O Pulso
- Three US airstrikes in a single month killed 153 Yemeni civilians — a figure that dwarfs the entire 2024 toll of two deaths and signals a dramatic escalation in the human cost of American operations.
- The attack on Ras Isa fuel port was the deadliest single strike, killing 80 people and injuring 171, with footage of burning tankers and scattered bodies broadcast across the region.
- The Pentagon's own review concluded the strikes 'more likely than not' caused civilian harm, yet the military declined to issue condolence payments — a break from precedent that has drawn sharp attention.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has shrunk the office responsible for minimizing civilian casualties even as US military operations expand into Yemen, the Caribbean, and the eastern Pacific.
- Fifteen additional incidents in Yemen remain under CENTCOM review, meaning the 2025 civilian death toll could rise further before the Pentagon submits its formal accounting to Congress.
In the long and troubled ledger of modern warfare, the United States military has now entered a formal acknowledgment: three strikes in Yemen in April 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 more, the deadliest of them erasing 80 lives at a coastal fuel port in a single moment. The Pentagon's own review, submitted to Congress, determined these casualties were 'more likely than not' caused by American action — yet declined to offer condolence payments, a quiet departure from past practice that speaks volumes about how accountability is being measured. As the Trump administration expands military operations across multiple theaters and reduces the office charged with limiting civilian harm, the distance between acknowledgment and responsibility grows wider, and the human cost accumulates in documents that arrive long after the fires have gone out.
A Pentagon review submitted to Congress this week formally acknowledges that US military strikes in Yemen killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others in 2025 — all from three attacks carried out in April. The figures, first reported by NBC News and confirmed to the Associated Press by a Pentagon official, mark a stark departure from 2024, when the military assessed just two civilian deaths from its Yemen operations.
The deadliest of the three strikes hit the Ras Isa fuel port on Yemen's coast, killing 80 people and injuring 171. Video aired on Houthi-affiliated television showed bodies across the facility, burning tanker trucks, and towering fireballs. US Central Command said the strike was intended to cut off fuel revenue to the Iran-backed group, which has been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea since 2023. The other two strikes hit Houthi positions near Sanaa.
What distinguishes the report is not only the scale of harm but the Pentagon's response to its own findings. The review concluded the strikes 'more likely than not' caused civilian casualties based on intelligence, satellite imagery, and open-source reporting — yet declined to authorize condolence payments to victims or their families. No explanation was offered. The Pentagon has made such payments before, most notably after a 2021 drone strike in Afghanistan killed ten civilians including seven children.
The disclosure arrives at a fraught moment. Earlier this year, a US missile struck a school in Iran, killing up to 168 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reduced the Pentagon office dedicated to limiting civilian harm. And since September, US strikes on vessels accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed more than 200 people — a characterization of targets that Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the ACLU have publicly challenged.
The April strikes may not be the final word. As of February, CENTCOM was reviewing 15 additional incidents in Yemen following civilian casualty reports from nongovernmental organizations. The full toll of 2025 remains an open question, but what the military has already put on the record is difficult to set aside.
A Pentagon assessment released this week documents what the US military itself now acknowledges: American strikes in Yemen killed 153 civilians and left another 243 wounded during 2025. The numbers come from an unclassified review submitted to Congress as part of the Pentagon's annual accounting of civilian casualties—a document obtained by the Associated Press after NBC News first reported its contents.
All of those deaths and injuries came from just three strikes, all carried out in April. Two targeted Houthi positions around Sanaa, the rebel-held capital. The third, and by far the deadliest, hit the Ras Isa fuel port on Yemen's coast. That single attack killed 80 people and injured 171. Video footage broadcast afterward on the Houthis' Al-Masirah television channel showed bodies scattered across the facility, tanker trucks burning, and massive fireballs rising into the sky. US Central Command said at the time the strike was meant to cut off fuel supplies and revenue flowing to the Iran-backed group, which has been launching drones and missiles at commercial shipping in the Red Sea since 2023.
The scale of civilian harm represents a sharp departure from 2024, when the Pentagon assessed that US operations in Yemen killed just two civilians and injured two others. A Pentagon official, speaking anonymously because they lacked authorization to discuss the report publicly, confirmed the figures to the Associated Press and said the department would formally submit the assessment to Congress in the coming months.
What makes the disclosure significant is not just the numbers themselves but what the Pentagon concluded about them. The review determined that the three strikes "more likely than not" resulted in civilian casualties, based on US intelligence, satellite imagery, and publicly available reporting. Yet despite reaching that conclusion, the Pentagon determined that condolence payments to victims or their families were not warranted. The review offered no explanation for that decision. Such payments carry no legal requirement and do not constitute an admission of fault, but the Pentagon has authorized them in the past—most notably after a 2021 drone strike in Afghanistan that mistakenly killed ten people, including seven children.
The findings arrive amid intensifying scrutiny of civilian harm from US military operations. Earlier this year, a US missile struck a primary school in Iran, killing as many as 168 people. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reduced the size of the Pentagon office responsible for limiting civilian casualties. The Trump administration, which returned to office in January 2025, has also expanded military operations beyond Yemen. Since September, US strikes on boats the administration accuses of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed more than 200 people. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the American Civil Liberties Union have challenged the administration's characterization of those targets as "narco-terrorists," with the ACLU calling the government's claims about them "unsubstantiated."
The Yemen assessment may not represent the final accounting. As of February, US Central Command was reviewing another 15 incidents in Yemen following reports of civilian casualties submitted by nongovernmental organizations. Those reviews could push the 2025 civilian death toll higher still. The Pentagon's formal submission to Congress will come in the months ahead, but the damage documented in the April strikes—and the questions raised by the military's own assessment—is already on the record.
Citações Notáveis
The strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen. US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists.— US Central Command, April 2025
Pentagon determined the three strikes 'more likely than not' resulted in civilian harm based on US intelligence, imagery and open-source reporting.— Pentagon assessment
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