Yemen Government Forces Counterattack Houthis in Taiz and Hodeidah Toward Bab Al-Mandab

Fighting in Yemen escalated as government-aligned forces launched counterattacks against the Iran-backed Houthis in Taiz and Hodeidah, with Al Jazeera saying hundreds of people were killed over the past 24 hours and thousands were forced to flee.

“Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed over the past 24 hours”

Al Jazeera

The BBC said the geography of the fighting widened between the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) backed by Iran, including Taiz and Hodeidah on the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, al-Bayda and Marib in the center, and al-Jawf in the north.

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that the current battles were the fiercest in Yemen in years after the Houthis, since Thursday, launched a ground assault synchronized with missile and drone strikes on coastal areas facing the Red Sea and in the vicinity of Taiz, aiming to advance toward areas adjacent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait controlled by the government.

The BBC also described how government forces used aircraft to target sites and camps of the Houthis, while the Houthis announced the downing of three Saudi unmanned aircraft.

In parallel, the BBC said the Financial Times reported that oil facilities of Saudi Aramco in Jizan were hit in a new attack on Monday, with work underway to assess the damage.

As the offensive pressed toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, The Times of Israel reported that the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out airstrikes around Yemen, including a deadly bombardment of a prison in Al-Hazm in the north of Yemen.

The Times of Israel said Saba news agency reported seven people were killed by Saudi airstrikes on the prison, including one child visiting the facility, and that seven others were wounded.

Al Jazeera

The Times of Israel also quoted UN special envoy Hans Grundberg warning that the Houthi assault had “triggered increasingly intense clashes, threatening to further expand the conflict.”

In a separate framing, the BBC said forces affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, based in Aden, announced wide-ranging operations on several fronts on X, saying they retook sites and thwarted Houthi infiltration attempts.

The BBC further reported that the government forces said they carried out 13 airstrikes on Houthi sites, gatherings, and vehicles in al-Bayda, while SABA said government forces took control on Monday of Naqil and Jabal al-Koura in the Al-Khassaba front in western Taiz.

The escalation carried immediate humanitarian and economic stakes, with i24NEWS reporting that over 300 people had been killed and nearly 20,000 displaced by renewed fighting across Yemen.

“Over 300 people have been killed and nearly 20,000 displaced”

i24NEWS

i24NEWS said the Houthis launched an attack against government forces on Thursday that claimed the lives of over 120 people as they sought to sever the connection between the port city of Mokha and Taiz in the highlands, and that the Houthis also began launching attacks against Saudi shipping and oil refineries in the region.

The BBC said the area hosting Saudi Aramco’s refinery in Jizan has a processing capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, and it reported that Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said last month that attacks caused some production outages but did not have a material impact on operations or financial position.

Al Jazeera reported that Yemen’s deputy defence minister, Major-General Samir Al-Sabri, said on state television that the government has decided to “retake Sanaa,” while Majid al-Nuzaili said the objective was to “liberate Yemen from the grip” of the Houthis and restore Sanaa as a capital for all Yemenis.

Al Jazeera also said the World Health Organization reported on Monday that at least 728 people have been killed or wounded since August 23, with an estimated 21,000 people displaced from Taiz alone since Thursday.