Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Al Hudaydah Port ‘possible war crime’: Human Rights Watch

ISTANBUL (AA) – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced last month’s Israeli airstrikes on Al Hudaydah Port in western Yemen as a “possible war crime.”

At least six civilians were killed and over 80 others injured on July 20 when Israeli warplanes struck more than two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes in the Yemeni port as well as a power plant in the province.

The attacks came one day after a Houthi drone strike killed one Israeli and injured four others in Tel Aviv.

“The attacks appeared to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects,” the New York-based rights groups said.

“Serious violations of the laws of war committed willfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes.”

Niku Jafarnia, a HWR researcher for Yemen and Bahrain, said the Israeli attacks on Al Hudaydah “could have a lasting impact on millions of Yemenis in Houthi-controlled territories.”

“Yemenis are already enduring widespread hunger after a decade-long conflict. These attacks will only exacerbate their suffering.”

The Al Hudaydah Port is critical for delivering food and other necessities to Yemen, through which about 70% of the country’s commercial imports and 80% of its humanitarian assistance passes.

“The applicable laws of war prohibit deliberate, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks on civilians and civilian objects,” HRW said.

“An attack not directed at a specific military objective is indiscriminate. An attack is disproportionate if the expected civilian loss is excessive compared to the anticipated military gain of the attack.”

The rights group said governments that continue to provide arms to the Israeli government risk complicity in war crimes.