On Friday, 16 May 2025, at least one civilian was killed and at least three civilians were injured by a declared Israeli airstrike on the al-Salif seaport in al-Hudaydah Governorate, Yemen.

The IDF published on the official Telegram account at 6:34pm that “A short while ago, the IDF struck and dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the Hudaydah and Salif Ports in Yemen. These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime’s systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities. The strikes were conducted after numerous advanced warnings issued by the IDF to the population in the area in order to mitigate the risk of harm to civilian population in the areas of these sites. Any hostile activity in these ports will continue to be prevented.”

Initial reports from Saba News Yemen quoted the Yemeni Ministry of Health and Environment, which declared in a statement that one civilian was killed and three civilians had been injured due to the Israeli strike on the port of al-Salif. Facebook user Ali Al-Ahdal shared that Israeli forces had released a warning the week prior, and on the 16 of May launched strikes across three seaports including the al-Salif port.

Facebook page al-Salif youth mourned the loss of Abdo Qasim Ezz al-Din, who was killed in the Israeli strike on the port. The group said that he was struggling “for a living for his brothers and sisters”, and added “May God have mercy on him, forgive him, and grant him a place in His spacious gardens. May He inspire his family and relatives with patience and solace. To God we belong and to Him we shall return.”

An image shared of Abdo shows a smiling, cheerful man wearing a traditional headscarf.

Images shared by al-Mayadeen News and al-Hadath Yemen showed the large explosions and clouds of smoke arising from the Israeli strike at the al-Salif seaport. Facebook user Abdul Salam Al-Kanani posted that the Civil Defense Teams were “able to extinguish the fire that broke out in the port of al-Salif, Al-Hudaydah Governorate, as a result of” Israeli strikes.

Multiple local and social media sources quoted official statements while reporting on the strikes.