(Previous Incident Code: ISYEM003)

At night on Thursday,19 December 2024, between two and nine civilians, including at least one young man, were killed and at least one civilian was injured in declared Israeli airstrikes on the Ras Isa oil facility in the al-Hudaydah Governorate, western Yemen. Employees of the Ras Isa oil facility were reportedly among the casualties.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement on their website that “Fighter jets and aircraft of the Air Force, under the direction of the Intelligence and Navy Branch, flew nearly 2,000 kilometers last night and attacked, with the help of over 60 bombs, military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the western coastal strip and deep inside Yemen.” The IDF also published a map of “targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the Sana’a area and the western coastal strip in Yemen” which included two strikes on al-Hudaydah where Ras Isa is located, in addition to mentioning “Among the targets: fuel and oil tanks”.

Users on social media shared the names of the identified civilians among those killed. Facebook user Mohammed Ali Maghrom shared a post naming Ali Arouki and Ali Aqil Masjaji as having been killed in the strikes, adding “mercy, forgiveness and eternity for their pure souls.” Friends and relatives mourned their passing and posted heartfelt tributes on social media, with Facebook user Elias Anter posting “There are no words to describe the pain of your departure.. May God have mercy on you with His mercy…My brother, friend, and beloved Ali Masjaji has passed away”, sharing an image of Ali Masjaji, a smiling young man with a goatee, smartly dressed. Hamza Abdalla posted a similar tribute, and offered condolences to Masjaji’s surviving family, including to his cousin “the wise Ali Aqil Masjaji.”

Twitter/X user Lamirkhiz Al-Wasi posted that Israel reportedly launched “several violent airstrikes on Yemen”, and that strikes hit the Ras Isa oil facility among other locations. Al-Masirah TV initially reported on Twitter/X that there were “martyrs and wounded” who were among the “employees of the Ras Isa Oil Facility”, attributing the strikes to Israeli forces. Two civilians were killed and one wounded from the strikes on the oil facility, according to subsequent reportage by al-Masirah TV and local social media sources. RT Arabia reported that nine civilians had been killed along with several wounded in the strikes on the oil facility, sharing video footage at night of the purported missile descending from the sky, a large fire and plumes of smoke in the aftermath, and debris, damaged vehicles and infrastructure from the alleged strikes.

According to Facebook user al-Kados, “several employees of the Ras Isa oil facility” in Hudeydah were injured as a result of “Israeli aggression.” Other news outlets and social media sources reported that there were “martyrs and wounded” among the oil facility employees from the strike, and shared images and videos of the purported strike and the resultant fires that lit up the night sky.

Cairo News, Bin Banda News, al-Masirah TV, and al-Masdar Online, along with multiple users on social media, reported that the incident consisted of two consecutive strikes that hit the oil facility.

An image published by “Walid al-Salatin” has not been archived with this incident because it was published years prior to this incident.