Israeli airstrikes on the Yemeni port of Hodaida last month appear to have been a disproportionate indiscriminate attack on civilians that may amount to a war crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.

Israel announced on July 20 that its warplanes struck Houthi military targets near Hodeidah.

The attack targeted oil facilities and a power plant, and the Observatory said at least six people were killed and at least 80 were injured.

It came the day after a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv, Israel’s financial center, which the Observatory said could also constitute a war crime.

Retaliatory Israeli airstrikes in Hodeidah hit at least 24 oil storage tanks and two cranes at the port, as well as a power plant in the district’s Salif sector, Human Rights Watch said.

“The attacks appear to have caused disproportionate harm to civilians and non-military targets. Serious violations of the laws of war committed knowingly, i.e. intentionally or recklessly, are war crimes.”

Analysis of satellite images showed that oil tanks had been burning for at least three days, raising environmental concerns, according to the Observatory’s report.

Hodaida, which has been under Houthi control since 2021, is critical for distributing food and other essential goods to Yemen’s import-dependent population. About 70% of Yemen’s commercial imports and 80% of humanitarian aid pass through the port.

The Houthis are firing missiles and drones at Israel and disrupting global trade through the Red Sea in response to Israel’s attack on Gaza, further destabilizing the Middle East as the war in the Palestinian enclave rages on after ten months.

Israel says the Houthis have launched 200 attacks against it since the war in Gaza began, many of which were intercepted and most of which were not fatal.

But a rare Houthi drone strike on July 19 that hit Tel Aviv prompted Israel to announce its first strikes against the group the following day.

The Houthi movement, known officially as Ansar Allah, said it would continue to attack Israel in retaliation.