The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council says the “Dawn of Yemen” military operation has begun to “restore state institutions and liberate the capital Sanaa and end the Houthi militia coup”.
“With God’s help, the will of our people, the bravery of our armed forces and all military formations, and the support of our brothers and friends, Yemen will move towards a new dawn of freedom, peace, and stability,” Rashad al-Alimi said on X.
The army of Yemen’s internationally recognised government says it has “succeeded in controlling” the Bab al-Mandeb strait and recaptured a nearby airport in the coastal town of Dhubab in the governorate of Taiz.
In a series of posts on X, Brigadier-General Majid al-Nuzaili said government forces took over the airport and tightened control in the area.
The Saudi Arabia-backed head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory held by the Iran-backed Houthi armed group and restore state authority across the country.
In a televised address, al-Alimi said on Sunday the internationally recognised government’s forces would extend “the authority of the state and its institutions over the entire national territory”.
Loud explosions have been reported in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, while missile, drone and artillery attacks targeted Houthi positions across the country, according to the military.
Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, Yemen’s military spokesman, wrote on X on Saturday that the armed forces are carrying out a military operation “on legitimate vital military targets in Sanaa”, adding that they are “capable of executing strategic attacks against the Houthis”.
In der internationalen Berichterstattung wird das Ergebnis überwiegend als militärischer Erfolg AnsarAllahs dargestellt. Ein genauerer Blick auf die von CNN rekonstruierten Abläufe zeigt jedoch ein anderes Bild: weniger einen Sieg der einen Seite als einen aussergewöhnlichen Zusammenbruch der anderen – mit direkter saudischer und US-amerikanischer Beteiligung an diesem Zusammenbruch.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is “not at war with Saudi Arabia”, as tensions rise over Houthi attacks on the kingdom, Al Jazeera reported.
Pezeshkian said the Houthis have “their own issues”, distancing Iran from the group’s actions.
A 2022 truce had reduced large-scale combat and allowed Saudi Arabia to distance itself from the conflict, but it left the capital under Houthi control and did nothing to establish centralized control over the country and its heavy weapons.
Now, as the Houthis advance rapidly toward government strongholds in the south, Yemen’s military is scrambling to regroup and make progress on its planned offensive in the north. The question now is whether Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and other powers will now intervene to help blunt the Houthis’ rapid advances.
Sultan al-Arada, a member of the ruling presidential council, described the collapse of government forces in the port city of Mocha and elsewhere on Yemen’s west coast as “painful and regrettable”.
Al-Arada, also governor of central Marib province, said in a TV interview that government fighters “are currently regrouping and will return to the battle in one form or another”.
Obock, a city only about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across the water from the Yemeni coast, has for several years been a preferred arrival point for those seeking refuge from war-torn Yemen. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is also used in the opposite direction by migrants from the Horn of Africa, who transit through Yemen on their way to Gulf countries.
According to reports, their advance is facing little resistance after government-aligned forces withdrew from their positions.
If that continues, it could pave the way for the Houthis to seize more territory along the coast and move closer to Bab al-Mandeb, while increasingly threatening shipping in the crucial Red Sea trade route.
They’ve been battling it out over the past nine days and we knew that the Houthis were trying to push west of Taiz because their main goal, their main prize, was the takeover of the city of al-Makha (Mocha) and also the Red Sea coastline.
It gives the Houthis full advantage to prevent ships from crossing Bab al-Mandeb and also, more importantly, the ability to cut off three main supply lines to the government in the south of the country.
Beginning on Thursday, the Houthis launched an offensive aiming to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
A military official within the government told AFP that the Houthis had succeeded on Saturday evening in „cutting off the road linking Taiz to Mokha.“
Strikes by Yemen‘s Houthis on Sunday killed at least 11 people, a medical source in the Yemeni port city of Mokha has told AFP, after an earlier drone salvo targeted a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea coast.
A years-long truce in Yemen‘s civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government appeared to collapse last month.
The sources added that the casualty numbers were expected to rise.
Fighting in Yemen between the pro-Iranian Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent weeks, after four years of relative calm.
A member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has called for increased combat readiness within military and security units, describing the fight against the Houthis as a “fateful battle”.
Sultan al-Arada made the remarks during a meeting in Marib with Defence Minister, Taher al-Uqaili, and armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Saghir bin Aziz, where they “reviewed field conditions and progress of operational plans”, the Saba news agency reported.
Al-Arada said the campaign waged by government forces aims to restore state institutions and end “the rebellion” by the Houthis.
Israeli Channel 13 reported that the country‘s political leadership has issued new limits on military operations in southern Lebanon, allowing action within the „yellow line“ against direct threats while prohibiting operations in areas such as Beirut and Tyre.
The channel said the move reflects growing pressure from the Trump administration.
(17 minutes ago)
NNA – Public Health Ministry‘s Emergency Operations Center stated that the Israeli raid on the town of Qanarit, Sidon district, resulted in an initial toll of 7 martyrs and 13 wounded, including 5 children and 5 women.
(50 min ago)
National News Agency correspondent reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the town of Sohmor in the Western Bekaa region while a family was inside, resulting in four martyrs and one injured.
Rescue teams are continuing search-and-recovery operations, as a child remains trapped under the rubble and efforts are underway to reach him.
(55 minutes ago)
Civil Defense General Directorate announced that its teams from various centers across the Nabatieh regional district have been conducting evacuation, rescue, and medical transport operations since the morning in response to ongoing attacks targeting the area.
According to an official statement, Civil Defense personnel evacuated 47 residents to safer locations and transported 16 martyrs and 12 injured to hospitals.
(5 hours ago)
NNA – A Lebanese Army soldier was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Kfarremane roundabout. The enemy also struck the center of Sohmur, resulting in injuries, while another airstrike targeted Shibl in Qatrani, in the Jezzine area.
(6 hours ago)
NNA – Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on the Jbour area in Kfarhouna, in the Jezzine district.
Israeli fighter jets also struck the town of Barish in the Tyre district, while another airstrike targeted the town of Borj Qalaouiyeh, coinciding with intensive drone activity over the western and central sectors of southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces opened machine-gun fire toward the outskirts of Al-Mansouri, and the outskirts of Majdal Zoun came under artillery shelling.
In a separate attack, an Israeli drone carried out an airstrike on the town of Deir Qanoun Ras Al-Ain.
The latest Israeli air strikes targeted several areas in southern Lebanon and Beqaa valley, located east of the country.
The ministry of health reported that the death toll has risen to at least 18 since Israel began its attacks early on Friday. More than 33 others have also been wounded as a result.
NNA – National News Agency correspondent reported that an Israeli drone dropped a sound grenade toward a group of young men on the outskirts of the town of Haddatha, in the Bint Jbeil district.
(02:06 PM)
NNA – Nabatieh – At 2:20 pm today, Israeli enemy warplanes launched an air raid targeting the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tebnit, towards the Ali al-Taher Hill.
(11:08 AM)
NNA – Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli enemy drones carried out three airstrikes targeting the towns of Mansouri and Aazziyeh, resulting in a number of injuries.
A separate drone strike targeted Braachit in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an Israeli force comprising several military vehicles, including a D9 armored bulldozer and two Merkava tanks, advanced toward Hadatha before later withdrawing and repositioning near the town’s football field.
(09:37 AM)
Israeli artillery shelling targeted the vicinity of the Teachers’ Training Institute at the Nabatieh–Nabatieh El Faouqa Junction.
Israeli drones were also reported flying over the Beirut Southern Suburbs.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on Nabatieh El Faouqa and the eastern outskirts of Kfartebnit. No immediate casualty figures were reported.