However, the extent of the government’s territorial gains remains disputed. While the Yemeni military declared the city “secured,” unnamed government and military sources indicated that forces had only reached the outskirts of Mokha late on Monday. These sources confirmed the capture of the Dhubab military airfield, located 45 kilometers to the south, and stated that the road linking the Dhubab district to the Bab al-Mandab area had been cut. Houthi-run media rejected these claims as “Saudi propaganda,” asserting that the group retained control of Mokha, Dhubab, the Bab al-Mandab area, and the nearby Kahboub mountains. Houthi sources also claimed they had struck Riyadh’s airport and other locations in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the air strikes.
The offensive, launched by the National Shield, Giants Brigades, and Tihama Resistance forces, has also expanded to other fronts, including operations in Sanaa, the capital which fell to the Houthis at the start of the civil war 12 years ago. In response to the Houthi cross-border attacks, Turkey and Pakistan, allies of Saudi Arabia, held an emergency meeting in Riyadh. According to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry, both nations agreed to rapidly deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia in invocation of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and expressed deep concern over the sharp escalation in fighting.
Maritime security in the Red Sea has deteriorated further with the Houthi claim of an attack on a Saudi oil tanker. The Houthis stated that the vessel “Amzan,” owned by Saudi national shipping company Bahri, was targeted off the coast of Yanbu with a ballistic missile. Bahri confirmed the vessel was involved in a maritime incident in the Red Sea but stated that all crew members were safe and no injuries had been reported. Saudi officials had not yet independently confirmed the incident or the extent of any damage to the tanker. This strike follows a series of recent Houthi attacks, including a double-tap strike on a cargo vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that killed at least six people and wounded ten others, and a targeted strike on a Saudi oil refinery.
The Saudi-led military coalition maintains that its aircraft are providing “round-the-clock” air support to pro-government forces on the ground. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that Saudi airstrikes killed a schoolgirl and a woman in the Sanhan and Saawan districts of Sanaa on Monday. The conflicting reports regarding the status of Mokha and the Strait highlight the intense and fluid nature of the current military operations, with neither side providing independently verifiable proof of total control over these strategic locations.
