Yemen's internationally recognized government says it launched a major offensive against the Houthi movement on October 5, 2026, and on Monday claimed to have retaken key positions around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a vital chokepoint for global trade linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The campaign, codenamed Operation "Dawn of Yemen," is backed by a Saudi-led coalition that says about 100 fighter jets took part in the opening phase. The Houthis deny the claimed advances, and neither the government's battlefield claims nor the extent of their gains has been independently verified.
What happened?
Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's presidential council, announced the operation in a televised speech on Sunday, saying its objectives were to dismantle Houthi military capabilities, restore government control over state institutions, recapture the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, and end the Houthi "coup," according to The Media Line. On Monday, Yemeni military spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili said on X that government forces "have succeeded in controlling Bab al-Mandeb" and had regained a key road linking Dhubab district and the port town of Mocha. The Media Line reported that the Giants Brigades and the Nation's Shield Forces were leading the push, and that government forces also claimed to have captured the Dhubab airstrip.
The Saudi-led coalition said it was providing "full operational support," with spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki saying the coalition had "destroyed 324 high-value targets at the launch of operation 'Dawn of Yemen'" and that 100 fighter jets participated, per CNN. The coalition also said late Monday that its naval forces carried out a military operation in Yemen's Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah, Reuters reported.
Reuters, which could not independently verify the extent of the government's gains, reported on Tuesday that government forces had reached the outskirts of Mocha late Monday, with Houthi fighters retreating into the highlands according to four government sources — while the Yemeni Defense Ministry said the city had fallen. The Houthi-run Saba News Agency denied the reports, quoting an unidentified military source as saying the alleged gains were "fictitious" and "an attempt to cover up repeated failures and defeats." The Houthis' maritime coordination body also warned airlines against flying in Saudi airspace, calling it "unsafe" while Saudi "aggression" continues, Saba reported.
Why does the strait matter?
The Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Its fate has become central to the conflict: last month, the Houthis carried out a lightning offensive down Yemen's Red Sea coast, seizing a key port and putting pressure on international shipping, and announced that Saudi shipping trying to use the strait would be targeted, per CNN.
The fighting is unfolding against the backdrop of the wider US-Iran war, which has severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. CNN noted that the Red Sea has become an increasingly important alternative export route — and that Houthi attacks on Saudi oil exports diverted from Hormuz have threatened to drive prices higher. Ship-tracking data cited by the New York Post showed Persian Gulf crude exports topping pre-war levels for 14 days in September, but shipping-intelligence firm Marisks said Saturday that a recent pattern of incidents shows a "heightened and increasingly unpredictable kinetic threat" to vessels, with seven attacks reported in the past week.
What is the Houthis' response?
The Houthis have met the offensive with their own claims. The group said Sunday that it had struck vital Saudi energy facilities belonging to the Aramco state oil company, and on Monday claimed strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha International Airport, an Aramco facility for a second time, and the Khamis Mushait military base. None of these claims could be independently verified, and Saudi Arabia and Aramco did not immediately respond, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, fighting is not confined to the coast. Reuters reported that the heaviest combat is in the southwest — both around the strait and in the hills around Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city. Houthi forces have made advances there, gaining sections of a mountain road and leaving government forces besieged, according to five military sources with the Yemeni government, though one government source denied the road had been cut. A Houthi-run news agency claimed the group had driven government forces from the al-Mawasit district of Taiz province.
How are civilians affected?
The renewed fighting has already forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, CNN reported. The UN migration agency said Monday that 184,000 people had been displaced since the war resumed. The World Food Program said last week that three out of every four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry because of the surge in fighting.
Casualty claims from both sides remain unverified. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said Monday that two people were killed, including a child, and seven others wounded in Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa — CNN noted it could not independently verify the claims. The Houthis said Sunday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 106 air and missile strikes over the previous 24 hours targeting Sanaa and other areas.
What comes next?
Diplomatically, the offensive coincides with a regional escalation. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to begin implementing collective defense measures under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh — the first activation of the mutual-defense pact since it was signed in August. The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned American citizens Monday of potential drone and missile attacks on the country, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was expected that the Saudi-backed government in Yemen would hit back at the Houthis, and that the Saudis "have a right to defend themselves," per a Reuters wire carried by UK regional outlets.
Yemeni analyst Fatima Alasrar wrote Monday on X that "the Houthi coastal momentum is broken" and that territory taken by the Houthis in September "is beginning to unravel" — an assessment, not an independently confirmed battlefield fact. The war in Yemen, which began in March 2015, had killed 377,000 people by the end of 2021 according to the United Nations; a 2022 UN-brokered truce held until violence surged again in August 2026.
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Attribution notes: all territorial and battlefield claims in this article are government or Houthi claims, not independently verified facts — both CNN and Reuters explicitly note the lack of independent verification. Casualty figures come from the parties' own ministries. The Mecca pact development is covered in detail in our companion article, "Turkey and Pakistan to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia as Mecca defence pact is activated."
