The intensified American bombing campaign in Yemen has caused chaos and devastation in a nation already wrought by civil conflict and economic strife, following the suspension of aid by the Trump administration. According to reports from local communities, humanitarian workers, and rights organizations, the ramped-up US strikes are claiming civilian lives and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Siddiq Khan, the country director for Islamic Relief in Yemen, described the situation as increasingly unpredictable, with rampant bombing leaving the population on edge. Since the start of the airstrikes, Yemen—already the poorest country in the Middle East—remains a scene of mounting destruction and uncertainty.
The bombings target the Houthi movement, which has control over much of Yemen. Trump’s statement at the onset of the strikes ominously foreshadowed the devastation to come, threatening destruction unlike anything the Houthis had seen before. The strikes, aimed at punishing the Houthis for their attacks on Red Sea shipping lines, have extended to key locations including Yemen’s capital Sana’a, the port city of Hodeidah, and the Houthi stronghold of Sa’ada, where densely populated areas have been hit.
Human Rights Watch’s Yemen researcher, Niku Jafarnia, has criticized the Houthis for obstructing access to bomb sites and hospitals, but she also acknowledged the undeniable toll on civilians, with residential areas being targeted at night—an approach that is likely to result in civilian casualties.
The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency has accused the US of war crimes, alleging that the US has bombed a cancer hospital in northern Yemen, a claim that has drawn attention to the high civilian toll resulting from the strikes. The Yemen Data Project reported that within the first week of the new US bombing campaign, at least 25 civilians—including children—were killed, and that about half of the strikes hit civilian locations.
The combined effect of the bombings and the cut to USAid—as well as the Houthis being designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration—is deepening the humanitarian crisis. A worrying trend of diminishing humanitarian aid or even the closure of aid organizations is compounding the existing challenges, leaving humanitarian groups grappling with reduced funding and restricted access due to legal risks.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/02/us-bombing-of-yemen-houthis
