DUBAI, April 18. /TASS/. At least 38 people have been killed and another 102 injured in US airstrikes on Yemen, according to the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah television channel.

The strikes reportedly targeted the port of Ras Isa on the Red Sea coast in the Al Hudaydah governorate, home to an oil terminal, late Friday night. A massive fire erupted at the site following the bombardment.

Al Masirah said the US Air Force launched at least 14 air raids, some of which continued even after doctors and civil defense teams arrived on the scene. Several medics were among those killed.

Initial reports had placed the death toll at 33, with 80 wounded.

Meanwhile, the US military’s Central Command confirmed the attack on Ras Isa port, stating in a post on its X page that the strikes were aimed at denying the insurgents the ability to "embezzle the profits" from petroleum sales and restrict their access to fuel.

Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthis) wared Israel that it would shell its territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

After a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis suspended strikes on Israel but following the breakdown of the ceasefire, they resumed attacks on ships associated with Israel and on targets in Israel’s territory.

On March 15, the US started to carry out massive strikes on Houthi facilities in Yemen based on an order from President Donald Trump. The US Central Command said that the goal was to defend American interests and restore freedom of navigation. In response, the Ansar Allah movement attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the northern part of the Red Sea multiple times, using missiles and drones. There were no reports of damage to the vessel.