HRW: Israeli strikes on Yemen's Hodeida could constitute a war crime

Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port last month appeared to be an indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians, which may amount to a war crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

On 20 July, Israel said its warplanes struck Houthi military targets near Hodeidah.

The attack targeted oil facilities and a power station.HRW said it killed at least six people and wounded at least 80.

It took place a day after a Houthi drone hit Israel's economic hub Tel Aviv, killing one person, which HRW said also may constitute a war crime.

The retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah hit more than two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes at the port, as well as a power plant in the province's Salif district, HRW said.

"The attacks appeared to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects. Serious violations of the laws of war committed willfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes."

Analysed satellite imagery found that the oil tanks burned for at least three days, posing environmental concerns, according to the HRW report.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli foreign ministry.

Hodeidah, which has been under Houthi control since 2021, is critical for delivering food and other necessities to the Yemeni population, who depend on imports. About 70 per cent of Yemen's commercial imports and 80 per cent of its humanitarian assistance passes through the port.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israel and disrupted global trade through the Red Sea in response to Israel's assault on Gaza, further destabilising the Middle East, as the conflict in the Palestinian enclave rages on for more than ten months. 

Israel says the Houthis have launched 200 attacks against it since the Gaza war began, many of them intercepted and most of them not deadly.

The 19 July strike that hit Tel Aviv prompted Israel to announce its first strikes against the group the next day.

The Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, said it would continue to attack Israel until it ceases the aggression in the Gaza Strip.