The rights group described the attacks as potentially “unlawful, indiscriminate or disproportionate”, and said they were likely to impact civilians in the country.
Israel carried out air strikes on the Yemeni city after a drone launched by the country’s Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, hit central Tel Aviv, killing one person.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most of northern and western Yemen, have been launching drone attacks towards Israel in response to its ongoing military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Serious violations of the laws of war committed wilfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes,” HRW added.
The Israeli strikes hit two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes, as well as a power plant. At least six were killed and at least 80 people were injured in the attack.
Nasruddin Amer, a spokesman for the Houthi movement, described the strikes as “a brutal act of aggression against Yemen aimed at worsening the suffering of its people and pressuring Yemen to halt its support for Gaza”.
There is no evidence of a Houthi military presence in the port.
In addition to drone attacks, the Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea linked to Israel.
That campaign has drawn a military response from the US and its allies, which has launched air strikes on Houthi positions in the country.
