Houthi media says Trump’s footage of U.S. strike in Yemen hit Eid al-Fitr gathering
The video released by U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, April 5, lacks context amid conflicting reports
CLAIM
U.S. President Donald Trump released footage on his social media platforms on Saturday, April 5, which he described as showing a strike on a gathering in Yemen in which Houthis were receiving instructions for an attack.
Houthi-controlled news agencies said the bombing targeted a group during Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, days before, without clarifying who they were.
Pictures shared on social media claimed the U.S. strike hit a civilian gathering in Yemen.
BACKGROUND
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered bombings against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen after the rebel group threatened to resume strikes against vessels in the Red Sea in mid-March.
The group announced it would target ships if Israel did not lift its blockade on aid and fuel for the Gaza Strip.
Houthis started attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war against the militant group Hamas.
The U.S. military launched a new operation against Houthis in Yemen under Trump’s orders, which the Houthis said killed dozens of people, including children.
The U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, has since posted videos it said showed fighter jets taking off from its aircraft carrier to strike Houthi targets in Yemen.
On one occasion, CENTCOM released black-and-white aerial video it described as showing a strike on Houthi positions in Yemen on March 28.
Early on Saturday, April 5, Trump shared another aerial black-and-white video on his social media platforms, showing dozens of people gathering in a circle as an explosion detonates, creating a large crater.
“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!” Trump said in a comment accompanying this video.
Trump did not provide further details on the date or location of the strike.
CENTCOM did not publish the video shared by Trump but said on Saturday that its “dedicated service members of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group are on station, launching continuous operations 24/7 against Iran-backed Houthis”.
Rebel-controlled media in Yemen, including al-Masirah and SABA news agency, said the strike depicted in the video released by Trump hit a group of people days earlier, without specifying who they were.
Al-Masirah published Trump’s video with a compilation of reactions posted by social media users on X, condemning an alleged strike on civilians.
Al-Masirah said U.S. fighter jets struck a group of people gathering to celebrate Eid al-Fitr without identifying who they were.
Muslims celebrated the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, on Sunday, March 30.
SABA news reported that an unidentified source said the video published by Trump showed a strike on an event for Eid al-Fitr in southern Yemen’s Hodeida Governorate, showing a type of circular formation common for gatherings in Yemen.
SABA said those “present at that gathering had no connection to the operations carried out by the (Houthis), which are implementing the decision to ban navigation on ships linked to the American and Israeli enemy”.
SABA news, which did not describe them as civilians, said dozens of people were killed and wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, Moammar Al-Eryani, minister of information for Yemen’s exiled government opposing the Houthis, said on X on Saturday that U.S. forces had targeted a Houthi military gathering in southern Yemen.
According to Al-Eryani, the strike hit Al-Fazah, an area in the Hodeida Governorate near the Red Sea coast, killing “several prominent Houthi leaders, including a ‘valuable catch’, in addition to experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard”, without providing evidence.
Mehr News Agency, a semi-official news agency of Iran’s government, citing Tasnim News Agency, denied the claim that Iranian forces were killed in the U.S. strike in Yemen.
METHOD
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert of the Basha Report risk advisory firm, cited the location of Trump’s video with the following coordinates: 14°01’24.2″N 43°09’02.9”E.
This area on the map appears to match images from the clip shared by Trump. This is an area in southern Yemen’s Hodeida Governorate near the Red Sea coast.
Trump’s video raised questions among social users, who reshared pictures described as showing a gathering of civilians in Yemen before the U.S. strike.
An X account named Yemen Military replied to Trump’s video with an X post featuring two pictures saying the U.S. military targeted a “tribal gathering” that had nothing to do with “your ships”.
“You failed to achieve any military target, so you bombed civilians instead,” the account said.
The Yemen Military X account, self-described as sharing updates about the Armed Forces of the Republic of Yemen, has a profile photo of the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Qasim Saree, but it is not an official Houthi account.
The picture, with a generic “Yemen military” onscreen courtesy, shows vehicles right next to the group of people, which are not featured in the video shared by Trump.
Saree’s X account had not posted any pictures related to that attack.
A Google Lens search of the picture shared by the so-called “Yemeni Military” pointed to an article published by the Houthi-run Ansar Allah media on March 10, 2019, reporting on a protest in the Al-Marahba district of the Hajjah Governorate.
Another picture was also reshared in the reply to Trump’s video, described as showing a recent gathering of civilians in Yemen.
A Google Lens search returned a result directing to another Ansar Allah article published on October 14, 2023, reporting on a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
RATING
The video released by U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, April 5, lacks context amid conflicting reports.
The video was described as showing a strike on Houthis gathering in Yemen preparing for an attack, without mention to the location or date of the strike.
The minister of information of Yemen’s government, which opposes the Houthis, said on Saturday that an attack in the Hodeida Governorate killed dozens of people, including Houthi and Iranian forces.
The geolocation of the video shared by Trump indicates it was possibly filmed in a southern coastal area of Yemen.
Houthi-controlled media reported on the attack after the release of Trump’s video, saying it struck a group of people gathering to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr days before, without specifying who those people were, the exact date or location.
The first day of the three-day Muslim festival was on March 30, suggesting the attack announced by Trump might not have been from this weekend.
Meanwhile, pictures circulating on social media that were described as showing a civilian gathering in Yemen before the strike were proven to be old photos previously shared by Houthi media.
SOURCES
Social Newswire (2025) YEMEN: New strikes hit Houthi positions in Yemen, U.S. forces say [PART MUTE].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025) Available at: Donald J. Trump [Accessed 7 April 2025].
Truth Social (2025) Available at: Donald J. Trump [Accessed 7 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025). Available at: U.S. Central Command [Accessed 7 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025). Available at: Mick Wallace – The US Terrorist State has just indiscriminately bombed a group of Civilians at a tribal gathering in Yemen [Accessed 7 April 2025].
Al-Masirah (2025). Available at: Watch | Trump is just a murderous criminal [Accessed 7 April 2025].
SABA News Agency (2025). Available at: A special source denies what the criminal US President Trump published about targeting a meeting of leaders preparing to carry out naval operations. [Accessed 7 April 2025].
Ansar Allah media (2019) Available at: The people of Al-Marahba district in Hajjah support the implementation of the tribal honour document and bless the victories in Al-Ubaysah. [Accessed 7 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025) Available at: Jake Shields [Accessed 7 April 2025].
Ansar Allah media (2023) Available at: Dhamar Districts Witness Solidarity Stands With The Palestinian People And In Support Of Operation Flood Of Al-Aqsa. [Accessed 7 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025) Available at: Moammar Al-Eryani, Minister of Information [Accessed 7 April 2025].
Mehr News Agency (2025) No Iranian killed in US airstrike in Yemen: Source [Accessed 7 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025) Available at: Basha [Accessed 7 April 2025].