Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that US forces have attacked “hundreds” of Houthi targets in Yemen since the Pentagon began an intense bombing campaign against the Iran-backed rebels last month.
“In Yemen, the Defense Department is executing lethal operations against Houthi terrorists,” Hegseth said in remarks at the US Army War College.
“Our forces have struck hundreds of targets and decimated Houthi leadership, substantially reducing their capabilities and the threat to US ships in the Red Sea and through the BAM,” he said, referring to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow body of water that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Hegseth’s remarks came several days after US forces launched airstrikes on the Ras Isa fuel port, a key Houthi-controlled facility on Yemen’s western coast.
Satellite imagery from Planet Labs that was obtained by Business Insider shows what appears to be significant damage at Ras Isa after the strikes on Thursday, which reportedly killed dozens of people and injured more than 150 others. Blast marks can be seen around the facility, and multiple structures have been destroyed.
Planet Labs
Planet Labs
The Pentagon has offered very few details about the specific Houthi targets the US has struck during the ongoing campaign. The Ras Isa bombing marks a rare disclosure.
Before that, the last significant update was on March 17, when Air Force Lt. Gen Alexus Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Staff, told reporters that the US had hit command centers, training sites, drone infrastructure, weapons storage sites, and other facilities.
A defense official declined to provide additional information when BI asked what was hit at the Ras Isa port.
US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said last week that the Houthis used the port to import fuel and illegally collect revenue that helps sustain their military efforts.
“The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen,” Centcom said in a statement, adding that the bombing was not intended to harm Yemenis.
US Navy photo
On March 15, the US launched its new campaign against the Houthis to get them to stop their Red Sea maritime attacks, which began in the fall of 2023. In recent weeks, the Department of Defense has moved a second aircraft carrier and sent B-2 stealth bombers into the region.
The Trump administration has vowed to crush the Houthis. The campaign, now in its sixth week, shows no signs of slowing down; Centcom frequently touts “24/7” operations on social media.
“This is a clear, limited mission executed with ruthlessness,” Hegseth said Wednesday.
Despite such promises, experts and analysts believe it is unlikely the campaign will annihilate the Houthis, as President Donald Trump has threatened to do. The rebels also continue to maintain the ability to launch missiles at Israel, which, like their maritime attacks, are said to be in protest of the war in Gaza.
