Saudi-Backed Yemeni Forces Expel Houthis From Areas Around Key Strait

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have expelled Iran-backed Houthi rebels from several key areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Yemeni officials said Monday that forces allied with the internationally recognized government recaptured the town of Dhubab just north of the strait, as well as the towns of Bab and Hadeid. The Yemeni military also said National Shield, Giants Brigades, and Tihama Resistance forces captured the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Monday afternoon.

This push is part of a major offensive launched early Monday under air cover by a Saudi military coalition. The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said 100 fighter jets were providing support and had destroyed 324 high-value targets. He also said the coalition secured air protection of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Yemeni Presidential Council chief Rashad al-Alimi announced the start of military operations on Sunday, dubbed Operation Yemen Dawn, to retake territory and extend state authority.

The Houthis had also captured a key road linking Taiz with Aden, effectively isolating Taiz, which they have besieged for over a decade. The escalation revives Yemen's civil war after a four-year ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have a defense agreement and that the Yemeni government has a right to defend itself.

U.S. support included intelligence sharing, target identification, and planning for the offensive. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam accused Saudi Arabia of committing dozens of massacres. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported Saudi air strikes killed a schoolgirl and a woman in Sanaa. The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Co-ordination Centre warned civilian airlines that Saudi airspace, except for Mecca and Medina, was no longer safe. More than 4,000 Yemeni refugees have arrived in Obock, Djibouti, in the past month, fleeing the offensive.