Yemen fighting intensifies as Saudi strikes hit Hodeidah
Government forces report advances on multiple fronts as Houthi fighters seek greater control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast
SANA’A, Yemen (MNTV) — Fighting is intensifying across Yemen as government forces push against Houthi positions on several fronts while Saudi-led coalition aircraft strike areas under Houthi control, marking a major escalation after years of relative calm.
Saudi-led coalition aircraft targeted Houthi military positions in Al Hudaydah province, with the coalition saying the strikes were aimed at sites allegedly threatening commercial shipping and maritime security.
The coalition said the major ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Al-Salif remained open, while Houthi-linked media reported strikes on telecommunications facilities and Kamaran Island.
The renewed violence comes as government forces report advances in Jouf, where troops said they moved into eastern Al-Hazm and disrupted Houthi supply routes.
Authorities said the offensive was launched after Houthi attempts to advance against government positions and that the broader objective remains recovering territory held by the movement.
Government forces are also increasing pressure around Taiz, a long-standing frontline connecting western coastal areas with central and southern Yemen.
Military commanders have reported advances around Jabal Habashi and Al-Kadha, although the government has not provided enough detail to establish major changes in territorial control.
Houthi claims of airstrikes in Taiz and other provinces have not been independently verified.
In southern Yemen, government forces are preparing for a possible offensive along the Abyan-Al-Bayda front.
The governor of Abyan said troops had been reinforced and were ready to begin operations along a roughly 76-kilometer frontline where clashes have repeatedly occurred.
Fighting has also intensified around Maareb, a government-held region containing important oil and gas infrastructure.
Government sources accused the Houthis of shelling civilian areas, reporting the deaths of children and injuries among displaced people, while the Houthis have reported coalition airstrikes in southern Maareb.
The Red Sea coast remains the most strategically sensitive theater. Houthi forces control Hodeidah and much of the western coastline, while government forces hold areas farther south around Mokha and Dhubab.
Yemeni military sources cited by Reuters said the Houthis were advancing toward those areas, potentially increasing their leverage over the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a vital route for global trade and energy shipments.
The latest escalation has raised fears that Yemen’s conflict could again expand into a wider war.
The two sides had largely remained separated along front lines after a UN-brokered truce sharply reduced fighting in 2022, but the recent clashes now stretch from the northern desert to the southwestern highlands and the Red Sea coast.
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