Houthis capture Red Sea port city in push to seize Bab el-Mandeb

By Aleksandar Brezar Published on 10/09/2026 - 13:24 GMT+2•Updated 13:26 Share Comments Add Euronews on Google Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp The Houthis' latest offensive is meant to replicate Iran's Hormuz blockade in the Bab el-Mandeb, with Red Sea coastal towns and islands in the crucial waterway among their next military objectives. Yemen's Houthis seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha on Thursday and were advancing towards the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a Yemeni military source said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Witnesses said they saw Houthi forces entering the city while chanting "death to America, death to Israel". The city which has been held by Yemen’s internationally recognised government has been under sustained attack since early August, when more than 25 missiles struck it in a matter of days and forced port operations to halt. The Yemeni government is yet to publicly confirm Mokha has fallen. The Houthis, who control about one-third of Yemen's territory — albeit the most densely populated parts — are vying to seize and potentially disrupt the narrow waterway which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Together with Hormuz, cargo traffic through Bab el-Mandeb accounts for one quarter of daily petroleum and crude shipments, and nearly one-third of the world's maritime trade. The Houthis have also reportedly consulted with Tehran on imposing a safe passage toll through the strait over the summer, in an apparent plot to further strain global economies. Yemen's government has repeatedly warned of Houthi plans for taking control of the waterway, whose name in Arabic means "Gate of Tears". Major-General Sadeq Duwaid, spokesman for the Yemeni government-affiliated National Resistance Forces controlling areas adjacent to the strait, earlier warned that the Houthi siege of Mokha was a key manoeuvre to build operational footing along the Red Sea coast. "Through their continued attacks on Mokha and its port, the Houthi militia seeks to establish a presence along the shores of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and transform the area into a situation resembling that of the Strait of Hormuz," Major-General Duwaid said in mid-August. The coastal town of Dhubab and Perim Island — a rocky volcanic island that sits in the middle of the strait and divides it into two shipping channels — are now considered to be the Houthis' central military objective. Fighting continues to escalate Formally known as Ansar Allah, the Houthis launched a large-scale offensive last week against government forces backed by Saudi Arabia. They also launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens wounded, leading Riyadh to respond with daily strikes on Houthi-held territory. The Houthis reported on Thursday that about 40 airstrikes were launched by Saudi forces in a fresh salvo. "The Saudi enemy's air force conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in the governorates of Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib," Houthi news agency Saba said. Related Houthis claim strike on Saudi tanker in latest Red Sea escalationSaudi Arabia strikes back after Houthis hit oil sites in heaviest attack in years On Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi civil defence issued alerts warning of "potential danger" in two areas, Khamis Mushait and Abha. Inching towards Bab el-Mandeb The Houthis came to power in late 2014 after storming Sana'a and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites, forcing Yemen's government into exile. A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 had largely halted years of active warfare, yet it never resulted in a lasting political settlement. The group is part of Tehran's so-called Axis of Resistance — a loose network of militant groups in several countries in the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and militias in Iraq, all backed, trained and equipped by the IRGC to varying degrees. While the Houthis do not control the part of Yemen’s coastline along Bab el-Mandeb, they held territory less than 100 kilometres away. The group triggered a return to hostilities in Yemen's civil war in July, when they let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace. Riyadh retaliated by striking the airport. The Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the Houthis on the internationally recognised government's behalf since 2015, said it would "take all necessary measures and actions to respond to the sources of the threat and neutralise its danger". Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources. Houthi attacks on oil infrastructure and Saudi tankers have further contributed to a spike in oil prices, which surpassed $100 a barrel on Thursday. The group previously severely disrupted cargo traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb with their campaign against what they said was Israel-linked shipping during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, claiming it was a show of support for Palestinians. 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