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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militias have recently expanded their military operations, seizing the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha, capturing Perim (Mayun) Island and other islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and consolidating control over large stretches of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. They have also launched missile and drone strikes into southern Saudi Arabia, hitting civilian and energy facilities in cities such as Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, and wounding dozens of people including women and children. These moves reverse years of relative quiet under a UN-brokered truce and show a clear effort to expand territorial control, pressure neighbors, and gain leverage over critical maritime routes.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The consequences are severe on multiple levels. Domestically, the Houthi offensive is throwing Yemen deeper into renewed civil war. After roughly four years of uneasy calm, fighting has reignited along key front lines. Government-aligned forces have been pushed back from coastal positions; tens of thousands of civilians – reports put the number of those fleeing at around 46,000 to more than 76,000 in a short span – are already on the move, seeking shelter in crowded conditions in places such as Aden.
