Senators challenge Hegseth on civilian deaths in Yemen strikes

Three Senate Democrats called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday to account for the scores of civilians reportedly killed in recent U.S. military strikes meant to target Houthi militants in Yemen. According to Airwars, a U.K.-based watchdog organization, U.S. strikes were estimated to have killed 27 to 55 Yemeni civilians in March. “In addition, the strikes have moved beyond targeting Houthi missile launch sites to hitting urban areas,” including civilian infrastructure, they added. AdvertisementThe senators have implored Hegseth to account for the number of Yemeni civilians killed so far and asked him to describe the efforts that the Defense Department has undertaken to avoid such casualties. They also asked whether the Pentagon is even tracking reported civilian deaths after the Trump administration’s recent steps to curtail civilian protection activities set up at the Pentagon under President Joe Biden.