Operation ‘Yemen Dawn’: Saudi-led coalition joins fight to wrest Red Sea from Houthis
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has launched a major military campaign called “Yemen Dawn” against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, with a Saudi-led coalition providing air support as the rebels make fresh territorial gains along the country’s Red Sea coast.Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi said the operation was aimed at “restoring state institutions, liberating” Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital, and ending “the Houthi terrorist militia coup.”Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the coalition was providing “full operational support” to government forces. He said around 100 fighter jets were supporting the campaign and that the coalition had established “air protection” over the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.The coalition also claimed to have destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets. Those claims could not be independently verified.
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen October 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. (Reuters photo)
Why has ‘Yemen Dawn ‘ been launched
The operation follows a rapid Houthi advance in southwestern Yemen and along the Red Sea coastline. The rebels captured the key town of Turbah on Sunday, shortly before the government announced its military offensive.Turbah is strategically important because it lies on the main road connecting Taiz, one of Yemen’s most important cities, with Aden, the southern port city that serves as the interim seat of the internationally recognised government.The Houthis had already captured several villages and areas around Taiz. Their latest gains have raised the possibility of the rebels tightening their grip around the city and cutting off routes used by government forces to move troops and supplies.
Houthi supporters shout slogans as they celebrate advances made by Houthi forces in fighting with government forces along Yemen’s Red Sea coast at Sanaa in Yemen. (Reuters photo)
The Institute for the Study of War said the capture of Turbah could seriously restrict the ability of government-aligned forces to reinforce positions around Taiz.“Disrupting resupply has military value, of course, but controlling all the roads in and out of areas to the north of Turbah also prevents government forces from retreating out of the city,” the Washington-based think tank said.
Houthis push towards Bab el-Mandeb
The Houthi advance has also brought the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait into sharper focus.The rebels made major gains along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast in September, capturing the strategic city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands. These advances gave them control of Yemen’s side of the Bab el-Mandeb, a narrow maritime passage linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.Around 12% of global trade passes through the waterway, making control of the area strategically important not only for Yemen but also for regional and international powers.
Around 12% of global trade passes through the waterway,
Saudi-backed forces said on Monday that they had begun attacks on Houthi positions around Dhubab, a coastal town near the strait. The Giants Brigades, a government-allied faction, also announced a “decisive military operation against the Houthi militias” in the Bab el-Mandeb area.Saudi Arabia’s intervention marks a major escalation. Al-Malki said the coalition would continue supporting Yemeni government forces until the Houthis are “eliminated.”
How did Yemen’s war reach this point?
The latest escalation follows months of renewed fighting between the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government.The current flare-up began in mid-July after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa airport to prevent an unauthorised Iranian flight from landing. The rebels subsequently launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and government forces inside Yemen.They also announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and attacked several Saudi-linked vessels. The fighting intensified in September when the Houthis launched their biggest territorial push in years along the Red Sea coast.Yemen’s wider civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis moved south from their northern stronghold, seized Sanaa and forced the government to flee to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition then intervened in the conflict.The war has killed more than 150,000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.The latest fighting has killed more than 800 people and wounded over 3,600, according to the United Nations. More than 145,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen, while more than 3,000 have fled across the sea to Djibouti.The renewed fighting has also severely affected healthcare in Taiz. Yemen’s health ministry, which is aligned with the internationally recognised government, said medical facilities in coastal, western and southern parts of the province had either closed or were functioning only partially.
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