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Hegseth interrupted by anti-Iran war protesters
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was interrupted by several protesters at the Senate Appropriations hearing. Hegseth is requesting more funding for the Iran war.
The Pentagon says the U.S. military killed 153 civilians in 2025, up from two civilians killed in 2024, though independent reports put that number at much higher, Reuters reports.
Military operations also wounded 243 civilians last year, Pentagon assessments found.
Civilian deaths
What they're saying:
According to the Pentagon report submitted to Congress, the sharp rise in civilian deaths in 2025 were the result of three U.S. strikes in Yemen that "more likely than not" caused civilian harm. The U.S. military says the strikes are an effort to take out Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
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The Pentagon is also reportedly assessing 15 other incidents in Yemen that could add to the total. The Pentagon declined comment, but said it would release the report publicly "in the coming months," according to The Washington Post.
FILE: Smoke rising after a U.S. airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Str/Xinhua via Getty Images)
According to Airwars, which tracks civilian casualties in conflicts, reported l at least 258 civilians may have been killed in Yemen.
Dig deeper:
The Pentagon report didn’t include casualties from military strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, where the administration has struck multiple vessels it accuses of trafficking narcotics. The strikes have killed more than 200 people since September, 2025, but the U.S. military does not consider them civilian casualties. They call the targets "narco-terrorists."
RELATED: Three killed in latest US strike on suspected drug boat in eastern Pacific
The other side:
Civil rights advocates disagree, calling the Caribbean strikes unlawful extrajudicial killings using "unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims."
What's next:
Civilian casualties for 2026 could prove much higher with the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The Source: This report includes information from Reuters, The Washington Post and Airwars.