Claim: An image shows the aerial bombing of Hajjah and Hodeidah in Yemen by the US and UK on 21 July.
Fact: The picture shows an attack by the Houthi rebels in Sana’a, Yemen in 2014. Moreover, the bombing on the Hodeidah Port on 21 July was carried out by Israel, and not the US and UK.
On 21 July, X user @Kahlissee claimed (archived) : “BREAKING: YEMEN IS BEING BOMBED BY USA AND UK WARPLANES. They targeted Hajjah in Yemen with 2 airstrikes and launched 4 airstrikes in Hodeida in Yemen.” A picture accompanying the caption apparently shows smoke rising from the bombing on 21 July.
In early January 2024, US and UK began bombing Yemen-based Houthi targets, in response to the group’s attacks on commercial shipping.
Recently, the Iran-backed militia group has stepped up attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eden, demanding an end to Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed approximately 38,000 Palestinians.
The Houthi attacks disrupted trade via a crucial sea route that makes up about 12 percent of the global trade. The attacks have targeted some 70 vessels as of July 2024.
According to the latest reports, a drone struck Tel Aviv, Israel on 19 July, killing one and injuring 10. The attack was claimed by the Houthis as part of its attacks in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check analysed news reports to find the claim that the UK and US bombed Hajjah and Hodeidah cities in Yemen recently.
According to latest reports, Israel bombed the Hodeidah Port in Yemen in response to a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Houthi rebels, killing three and injuring nearly 80. Pictures posted alongside reports show huge clouds of smoke and fire rising from the targeted area, similar to the image shared in the claim.
While the UK and US have carried out joint airstrikes on Houthi targets since January, including in Hajjah and Hodeidah, Soch Fact Check could not find any confirmed news reports of another recent attack by the US and UK, as suggested in the claim.
Soch Fact Check then reverse-searched the image in the claim and found that it’s from 2014 when Houthi rebels attacked Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.
Propedia‘s detailed article on the conflict in Yemen included the image that was shared in the claim on X, further down the structure. According to the caption stated in the article, the picture shows “Sanaa in the midst of the takeover of power by Houthi rebels in 2014.”
A report (archived) by The New York Times on the Houthi takeover of Sana in 2014 also carries the exact image, which shows smoke rising “from the headquarters of the First Armored Division in Sana” as result of an attack by the Houthi rebels.
A high-resolution photo by Britannica.com, matching the image in the claim, also confirms it shows smoke arising from the “main gate of the army’s 1st Armoured Division after an attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on September 21, 2014.”
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the image is old, and does not show a recent bombing in Yemen. However, Soch Fact Check cannot confirm if a recent attack in Hodeidah and Hajjah was carried out by the US and UK.
Virality
The X post garnered 117,000 views and was liked 3,969 times.
It was also shared on X here.
It was shared on Facebook here.
Conclusion: The image is old, and shows smoke rising after an attack by the Houthi rebels in Sana’a, Yemen, in 2014. It is unrelated to any recent attacks that took place in the country.
Background image in cover photo: The Associated Press
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