Yemeni government forces say they have 'secured' Bab al-Mandab Strait

Yemeni pro-government troops supported by Saudi Arabia have secured the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait as part of a newly launched campaign against Houthi rebels, according to military officials.

A spokesperson for the Yemeni military reported that coalition-backed forces, specifically units from the Giants Brigades and the National Shield, have encircled Houthi fighters in the coastal settlement of Dhubab. The area borders the critical Red Sea maritime route. Government troops reportedly captured the local airport and severed transport links connecting the town to the port of Mokha.

Media outlets controlled by the Houthis disputed the claims, denying that any pro-government breakthroughs had occurred near Dhubab.

The push comes as Yemen's internationally recognized administration declared a comprehensive military offensive aimed at reclaiming all territory under rebel control. Rashad al-Alimi, the leader of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, announced the operations on Sunday, asserting that peaceful avenues for defusing tensions had completely failed. Alimi directed all armed services and allied formations to execute operational plans to wrest the nation back from Houthi rule.

Yemeni authorities indicated that combat operations had also commenced across multiple other battlegrounds, extending to the environs of Sanaa. The capital has been controlled by the Iran-aligned group since the initial stages of the conflict twelve years ago.

In tandem with ground movements, the Saudi-led coalition disclosed that its warplanes struck over 300 significant targets to back the allied ground push.

The widespread clashes follow rebel actions near Taiz in the country's southwest, where Houthi combatants recently severed an upland roadway, effectively trapping military personnel and civilian populations in the area. In response to intensive Saudi airstrikes, the Houthis claimed to have launched ballistic missiles and armed drones toward Saudi Aramco petroleum facilities located in Riyadh and Khurais.

The recent flare-up follows the breakdown of an informal truce that had held for roughly four years. Tensions surged in July after the Houthis declared an embargo on Saudi maritime traffic and renewed long-range attacks on Saudi infrastructure. Just last month, rebel forces mounted an unexpected coastal drive that temporarily dislodged government units from positions adjacent to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, including Dhubab, Mokha, and Perim Island.

Yemen has been embroiled in civil strife since 2014, when Houthi forces seized Sanaa, prompting an armed intervention by regional allies led by Saudi Arabia the following year. Recent hostilities have exacted a heavy toll, with the Yemeni health ministry reporting that at least 959 individuals have lost their lives and around 5,000 have suffered injuries since early August. The United Nations calculates that the latest unrest has forced approximately 197,000 residents from their homes.