Chart of the week: Yemen’s deadliest month since US air strikes began

April toll rises to 322 civilians killed amid expanded US operations against Houthi targets

US air strikes in Yemen have reached a deadly milestone, with April 2025 recording the highest death toll since the beginning of Washington’s military campaign against the Houthi rebels.

The sharp rise follows a significant intensification of the campaign, which began on March 15. According to The National’s analysis of data from ACLED and the Houthi Ministry of Health, 322 people were killed in April, a 25 per cent increase on March figures and more than double the monthly average since strikes began a year ago.

Among the deadliest incidents in April was a strike on a migrant detention centre near the Yemeni-Saudi border, which killed 68 people, including women and children, according to Houthi officials. The Houthi rebels retaliated by saying they attacked the American aircraft carrier Harry S Truman in the Red Sea.

Another attack on the Ras Isa fuel port on March 17 killed at least 38 people, marking the beginning of what analysts have described as a “new and more aggressive phase” of the conflict.

The US Central Command confirmed it has carried out more than 800 air strikes since mid-March, attacking what it describes as “multiple command-and-control facilities, air defence systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapons storage locations (by the Houthi’s)”. While the US Central Command insists it is taking precautions to avoid civilian casualties, the figures suggest a significant increase in the death toll.

However, the Houthi’s claim that the US is attacking civilian infrastructure without clear military value, including telecoms towers and water plants. Meanwhile, tension across the Red Sea corridor remains high. Shipping traffic has decreased once again in recent weeks due to fears of further escalation.