Maj. Gen. Majid al-Nujaili, spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, said Monday that “the Giants Brigades and the National Shield Forces have succeeded in securing Bab el-Mandeb,” according to Spain’s EFE news agency. The two pro-government units are leading the offensive along Yemen’s western coast and advancing toward the port city of Mocha, having cut the road linking Dhubab and Mocha. Al-Nujaili claimed 1,122 precision strikes against Houthi artillery, rocket launchers, defensive positions and command centers. Reuters, citing military and government sources, reported government forces had seized much of the Dhubab area.
The Saudi-led coalition has formally joined the operation. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said 100 fighter jets were taking part in the “Dawn of Yemen” operation, with 324 key targets struck and air support continuing to protect the strait. The campaign was declared Sunday by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who swore to fight “until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia.”
None of it is independently verified. CNN noted it had not verified the claims; the Houthi-run Saba news agency, citing a military source, called the alleged gains “fictitious” and “an attempt to cover up repeated failures.” The Houthis have simultaneously claimed missile and drone strikes on Aramco facilities in Riyadh and Khurais — also unconfirmed by Saudi authorities. What is confirmed is that the Red Sea corridor, the increasingly important alternative export route since the Iran war disrupted Hormuz, is now a shooting war’s front line.