Story perspectives

Pentagon: 2025 Yemen Strikes Killed 153 Civilians

8/13/2026

Center

Pentagon Reports Civilians

The Pentagon reported that U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians and injured 243.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut the civilian-harm office budget, reduced staff from 40 to nine, fired senior lawyers, and emphasized “maximum lethality.”
Three April 2025 strikes near Sanaa, Ras Isa port, and Saada were judged likely civilian-harm.
Undersecretary Elbridge Colby announced a Jan 2026 review of the civilian-protection center, and its status remains unclear.

Left

Pentagon Review

U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians and injured 243, a Pentagon review found.
Human Rights Watch labeled the April Ras Isa fuel-port strike an apparent war crime and urged an investigation.
The three April strikes, including Ras Isa, caused 80 deaths and 171 injuries.
Pentagon refused condolence payments, cut its civilian-harm office, and is reviewing 15 other alleged incidents.

Blindspot

Human Rights Watch, an international NGO, described the April 2025 Ras Isa fuel-port strike as an apparent war crime and urged a formal investigation into the U.S. airstrike.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

Iraq’s 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait prompted a US-led 42-nation coalition to begin Operation Desert Storm’s air campaign on 17 January 1991, flying over 100,000 sorties. U.S. Central Command and the UN recorded 300 civilian deaths and 1,200 injuries, sparking criticism that led the Department of Defense to adopt Directive 3000.05 in 1996, a rule that still shapes debates over later strikes such as Yemen in 2025.

1 of 4

Pentagon Reports Civilians

The Pentagon reported that U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians and injured 243.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut the civilian-harm office budget, reduced staff from 40 to nine, fired senior lawyers, and emphasized “maximum lethality.”
Three April 2025 strikes near Sanaa, Ras Isa port, and Saada were judged likely civilian-harm.
Undersecretary Elbridge Colby announced a Jan 2026 review of the civilian-protection center, and its status remains unclear.

1 / 4