Fighting increases in Yemen as Houthis look to al-Mandab Strait as potential pressure point

Members of Houthi security forces sit on a rock at the site of a rally held to commemorate Mawlid, marking the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's birthday, in Sanaa, Yemen, August 25, 2026.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)

Reports in Yemen suggest that Yemen’s government forces have made some limited gains against the Houthis. The Houthis have dominated a swath of Yemen since 2015. They have consolidated control over the last decade and launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other countries. They are backed by Iran. However, Iran has fewer funds to support them, and this could cause them to suffer setbacks. 

The Houthis could still threaten the key Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. They could do this to try to reduce pressure on Iran. Currently, the picture of escalation is not fully clear. Both the Houthis and government forces are escalating attacks. 

Reports in regional media, including SANA in Syria and Al-Arabiya, say that Yemeni government forces had taken full control of Hays district in Hodeidah province and made gains in Taiz and Al-Jawf, as Houthi forces fired three ballistic missiles at Taiz city. The SANA report is based on Yemen’s Saba News Agency, which itself quoted a Yemeni military source as “saying government forces secured the remaining rural areas of Hays on Saturday evening. Hays city was already under government control.”