Reed Statement on DOD Civilian Casualty Report

WASHINGTON, DC-This week, the Department of Defense submitted to Congress its Section 1057 report, an annual accounting of civilian harm connected to U.S. military operations. In its 2025 report, the Department detailed civilian casualty incidents to include three strikes in Yemen - in Sanaa, at the Ras Isa fuel port, and near Saada - that killed 153 civilians and injured 243 more, with the April 17, 2025 strike on the Ras Isa terminal alone accounting for up to 80 deaths and 171 injuries.

These strikes in Yemen represented the deadliest U.S.-caused civilian casualty incidents in decades, until the Minab school strike in Iran in February 2026, where credible reports indicate at least 175 people, most of them children, were killed.

A copy of the DOD 1057 Report for 2025 is available here.

In response to this report, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

"I am disturbed by this report and by the pattern it represents under Secretary Hegseth's leadership. Under his watch, the Department of Defense killed at least 153 civilians and injured 243 more in the poorly conceived Yemen campaign in 2025.

"This did not happen in a vacuum. During his tenure, Secretary Hegseth has gutted the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, pushed out senior JAG officers who advise commanders on the laws of war, and boasted about discarding what he calls 'stupid rules of engagement.' The same Yemen campaign that produced these casualties is the one where the DOD Inspector General found Secretary Hegseth shared classified strike details over Signal, putting the pilots flying that mission at risk.

"The Department has delayed this report for months and still has not submitted a separate accounting for the Minab school strike. Congress and the American people have waited long enough. I am demanding Secretary Hegseth appear before Congress to explain these incidents, account for the dismantling of civilian harm mitigation infrastructure across the Department, and commit to a firm date for the Minab report.

"Accountability for these losses is required by law and basic decency. Secretary Hegseth owes the families of these victims, our service members, and the American people a direct and honest reckoning."

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