On the Eve of the Port Bombing: Accounts from Witnesses

On Saturday, July 20, at approximately 5:50 PM, darkness fell over the city of Hodeidah prematurely. Black smoke clouds obscured the city's sky, and the smell of gunpowder replaced the fragrance of jasmine. Israeli fighter jets had turned the oil facilities and fuel tanks at the port into a blazing inferno, which firefighting teams and civil defense units, along with official and private efforts, were unable to contain. The situation was left to the desperate prayers of women, the elderly, and children living without electricity in a city where temperatures reach 38°C. At the same time, Israeli jets targeted the Central Power Station located in the Alkateeb area, in the Al-Salif District, Hodeidah Governorate, putting it out of service.

Following the Israeli attack, I joined a team from Mwatana for Human Rights organization that rushed to the attack sites from the very first moments to document the aftermath of six double strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes on vital and civilian facilities in Hodeidah city. The attacks resulted in 10 fatalities and more than 80 injuries, including two children. The bombings also caused the displacement of dozens of families from the surrounding areas and inflicted severe damage on the Hodeidah and Al-Salif ports, as well as the Central Power Station in the Alkateeb area, Hodeidah Governorate, western Yemen.

The Port of Hodeidah is one of the most prominent ports on the Red Sea and serves as a gateway for humanitarian aid and commercial goods for over 80% of Yemen's population. During the Israeli airstrikes on the port, there were ships at the port carrying humanitarian aid and commercial goods. A vessel belonging to the World Food Programme sustained minor damage from the attack. On Pier 7 at the Hodeidah Container Port, next to the NEPTUNE J, I met the ship’s maintenance engineer, Imad Zain (44, Syrian), who reported: "My colleagues and I were on board the ship when the Israeli jets targeted the Hodeidah port. Two cranes were hit in consecutive strikes, followed by further attacks on the fuel tanks and oil facilities at the port. During the crane strikes, a person was performing maintenance on one of them, and his body was found in the sea about 24 hours later. One of the 23 crew members sustained injuries to his left forearm from flying glass in the cockpit, as well as bruises and contusions from falling during the bombing. I believe this attack will deter shipping companies and vessels from coming to Hodeidah port." According to the witness, the NEPTUNE J was carrying 13,000 tons of food aid (wheat) that arrived at Hodeidah port from Turkey on July 14 and began unloading on July 18. The ship suffered superficial damage from shrapnel and debris.

Israel deliberately targeted civilian and vital facilities, including the fuel tanks at Hodeidah port. Israeli fighter jets first struck the oil facility fire extinguishing tank at the port, before targeting the fuel tanks, to disable any fire response efforts. Haitham Maqbool (32), one of the survivors and an employee at the oil facility’s fire extinguishing unit at the port, recounted to Citizens for Human Rights: "The initial strikes targeted the port cranes. I was relaxing after a 12-hour shift. As a fire extinguishing worker at the Hodeidah port, I rushed to perform my duties, only to be surprised that the subsequent strikes targeted the fire extinguishing area. A missile hit the fire extinguisher tank containing foam for extinguishing fires, followed by attacks on the fuel tanks. The explosions continued. We had nothing we could do; we couldn’t perform our tasks due to the destruction of the fire extinguisher tank and the flames and fuel fires surrounding us from all directions."

Haitham and his fellow fire extinguishing staff stood helpless, with some unable to save themselves, succumbing to the flames. Others, overwhelmed by the event, stumbled as they fled from the flames of death. "I sustained scattered burns all over my body while trying to escape the inferno. I could barely move and couldn't do anything else, including trying to save my colleague Nashet, who I saw trying to extinguish the fire on his clothes. When he couldn’t succeed, he saw escape in the sea and jumped into the water, which was mixed with leaking fuel. The water ignited as if a burning matchstick had been thrown into a pool of petroleum."

At Al-Thawra Hospital in central Hodeidah, I met Mohammed Al-Barai (34), another survivor with burns on various parts of his body. He spoke more about the psychological impact of the experience rather than his physical injuries, saying with sorrow: "I was immobilized, frozen in place after seeing the head of my colleague Nabil Nashar detached from his burning body about 5 meters away. I saw death firsthand. I suffered burns on my neck, hands, and left leg, but the psychological trauma is more severe. I now struggle to sleep normally, and even when I doze off, I am plagued by terrifying nightmares. I survived death by a miracle."

Panic and Displacement

Panic and fear gripped the residents of Hodeidah after the large explosions caused by Israeli airstrikes and the subsequent blasts from fuel tanks. The attacks led to the displacement of dozens of families from the surrounding and nearby areas to escape the threat of death or suffocation.

Hanaa Al-Faqih (a private sector employee) told Kholasat: "I live in the commercial district near the port street, about 1,500 meters from the oil facilities at the Hodeidah port—the site of the attacks. The sounds of the airstrikes and the subsequent explosions caused terror and panic, especially among my children. I tried to reassure them despite my own fear that the nearby areas might be damaged. The electricity went out, and I learned from the news that Israeli strikes had also targeted the central power station. I opened the windows to let in some air, but within moments we felt the oxygen was gone, and we could only breathe in the smoke from the burning fuel tanks at the port. The smoke covered the sky in an overwhelming manner, so I decided to evacuate with my children and moved to a hotel on the outskirts of the city. Many residents near the port also fled, especially after the fire came close to the gas tanks, which was a looming threat."

Citizens for Human Rights estimates that around 100 families fled from the Al-Khubeib area in the As-Saleef District (where the power station workers live), while approximately 150 families displaced from the Hodeidah port area. These families moved to central Hodeidah and to Sana'a Governorate.

In the early hours of the attacks, panic and the repercussions of this disaster extended to Sana'a and other provinces controlled by the Houthi movement. Long lines of cars formed at fuel stations, and people crowded at gas refill stations, fearing a potential fuel crisis. This led the Yemen Petroleum Company in Sana'a to issue a statement confirming that the supply situation, both in Hodeidah Governorate and other provinces, was entirely stable, and there was no need to panic at fuel stations.

Environmental Pollution

In a statement to Kholasat, environmental expert Mohamed Zimam said: "The Israeli attacks on the oil facilities at Hodeidah port caused significant environmental damage due to the polluted smoke emissions from the fuel tank fires that lasted for five days, as well as marine pollution from fuel leakage into the sea. This could negatively affect the economic sector, particularly the fishing industry. Yemen's fish exports might decrease due to the events in the Red Sea and marine environmental pollution."

Fishing is a primary source of income for many families in Hodeidah Governorate, which has a coastline rich in fish and marine life. According to UN statistics, the highest poverty rates in Yemen are concentrated in this coastal governorate, where the majority of residents rely on fishing—a crucial productive sector in Yemen, ranking second in GDP after oil.

According to an investigation published by Khuyut in June, Yemen's annual fish and marine life production was about 200,000 tons before the outbreak of war in early 2015, with 40-50% of this production exported, generating approximately $300 million in revenue. However, since the war began, production has halved due to the displacement of fishermen and damage incurred during the years of conflict.

War Crime

The Israeli attack on civilian infrastructure in Hodeidah was met with widespread condemnation from various countries, organizations, and human rights institutions. Mwatana for Human Rights called for an independent international investigation into the incident. In a statement, they said: "The Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure in Hodeidah represent a war crime that violated the protection of international humanitarian law for civilian objects and infrastructure, breached principles of international humanitarian law such as proportionality, protection, and distinction, and undermined the protection afforded to civilian objects under Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1977, which prohibits 'the deliberate restriction or obstruction of essential food supplies, or the deliberate destruction of agricultural areas, crops, livestock, or water installations and irrigation networks essential for the survival of the civilian population,' and Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which considers 'the unlawful and widespread destruction of protected property and installations as criminal acts and serious violations of the convention.'"

Mwatana for Human Rights also condemned the continued support of the United States for Israeli war crimes in Palestine and Yemen. Radhya Al-Mutawakel, Chairperson of Mwatana for Human Rights, stated: "The U.S. financial, military, and political support for Israel, despite Israel's record of human rights violations in Gaza and now in Yemen, and the warm reception of Netanyahu in Washington instead of his arrest and referral to the International Criminal Court, is disgraceful and disappointing behavior that makes the United States a constant ally of those committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity."

Mwatana for Human Rights confirmed, "that their field teams in Hodeidah found parts of American weapons used in the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah port, as well as in many previous illegal attacks in Yemen."

The fuel tanks at Hodeidah port burned, and with them, the hearts of all Yemenis, heightening fears about the consequences of this escalation and its impact on the country's economic and humanitarian situation. Observers believe that if this escalation continues, it will have severe negative effects on the already deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation, with Yemen’s economy, already wounded, facing an increasingly severe hemorrhage day by day.