Yemeni government forces conducted strikes targeting Houthi positions in Sanaa and other areas, claiming at least 700 rebel deaths. The military campaign follows a collapsed 2022 truce and a series of Houthi territorial advances along the Red Sea coast.
Government Forces Launch 257 Precision Strikes and Report 700 Rebel Deaths
Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, the spokesman for Yemen’s government forces, announced that the military executed 257 precision targeting operations
utilizing warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers.
Initial military estimates indicate the strikes killed at least 700 Houthi fighters and destroyed 170 combat vehicles and heavy equipment. Al-Nazili stated a day earlier that nearly 500 military operations over a 24-hour period had killed or wounded 1,540 Houthi fighters.
Ground Clashes Intensify Around Taiz and the Samaa Fort
Strikes hit Midi, Baqim, al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda, and Lahij, while the city of Taiz emerged as the primary flashpoint for ground clashes. Reporting from Taiz, Al Jazeera correspondent Maha Ali noted that the western outskirts experienced continuous artillery fire and severe escalation.
A residential area in Dhubab was struck by a shell, resulting in the death of a baby from shrapnel injuries. Government forces secured control of the Samaa fort southeast of Taiz following violent battles that left dozens of Houthi fighters killed or wounded, according to the government-run Saba news agency cited by Al Jazeera.
Authorities Close the Al-Houban Crossing
Yemeni authorities shut down the al-Houban crossing in Taiz. The vital road connects Houthi-held al-Houban to government-controlled Taiz city and had remained closed for nine years before reopening to civilians in 2024 for humanitarian reasons.
Ammar al-Sami’i, an army media official, explained that security concerns forced the closure following an alleged Houthi attempt to infiltrate Taiz via the route, alongside recent attacks and military buildups in the vicinity. The renewed hostilities follow the relative calm established by a 2022 truce, which collapsed after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and seized the port city of Mocha.
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