Houthis Capture Strategic Port City of al Mokha, Advance Toward Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Following nearly nine days of continuous fighting, Iran-backed Houthi forces have captured the key port city of al Mokha on Yemen's western coast. Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, retreated to Dhubab, located 46 kilometers south of the city. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Houthi fighters enter al Mokha on Thursday.

The capture of al Mokha marks a major development as it links the Houthis' northern strongholds and allows them to assert control over the Red Sea coastline, adding to their existing control over the political capital Sana and the main commercial port of Hodeidah. According to the Yemeni military, Houthi forces are advancing toward the Bab el-Mandeb strait and have launched a major offensive to seize Perim Island, while also capturing Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea using rocket attacks and boat-borne assaults.

The Houthi advance poses a direct threat to Bab el-Mandeb, a strait responsible for 10 to 12 percent of global trade. At a time when the Strait of Hormuz is closed, this development allows the Houthis to further disrupt global trade, target Saudi reinforcements to Hodeidah, cut three main supply lines to government forces, and place the Red Sea port of Yanbu within reach of their missiles and drones.

Despite Saudi Arabia conveying a warning message to Tehran through Pakistan to control the Houthis, large-scale Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia have continued. A pro-Houthi commentator in Sana stated that the group aims to liberate the entire coastline from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and every corner of Yemen.