DUBAI | Houthi fighters were pushing on Monday to seize strategic highlands in Yemen’s Taiz and Lahij provinces, seeking to strengthen their hold over the Red Sea coast and cut off remaining territory controlled by Saudi-backed forces, Reuters reported.
The advance came as The New York Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had called off planned airstrikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis at the last minute, despite repeated appeals from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for direct U.S. military support. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report, while the U.S. military’s Central Command did not respond to a request for comment.
Five Yemeni military sources told Reuters that the Houthis were seeking to capture the strategically located Kahboub Mountains, which stretch across Taiz and Lahij and separate the Red Sea coast from government-held areas in the south. Fighting has focused around Al-Wazi’iyah district in Taiz and Ras al-Ara, near the coast and the southern approach to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Control of the high ground would give the Houthis a stronger defensive position around the strategic waterway and potentially allow them to open additional fronts.
The latest offensive follows a rapid Houthi expansion along Yemen’s western coast. The group seized the port city of Mocha earlier this month and advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters reported that the Houthis have now gained control of strategic areas around the waterway, increasing concerns over international shipping and global energy supplies.
The escalation has also brought renewed attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. The Houthis claimed on Saturday that they had launched missiles and drones toward Riyadh, with explosions and smoke reported near the Saudi capital’s airport. Saudi authorities said their forces intercepted a missile aimed at Riyadh and reported other attempted attacks in several locations.
Trump’s reported decision not to proceed with the strikes follows weeks of U.S. caution over becoming directly involved in the renewed Yemen conflict. Reuters reported earlier this month that Washington had instead been providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting assistance while declining to launch direct attacks on the Houthis.
The conflict has roots dating back more than a decade. The Houthis and allied forces seized Sana’a in September 2014 after Yemen’s political transition broke down. At the request of then-President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. Years of fighting produced widespread destruction and one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
A UN-brokered truce in 2022 significantly reduced large-scale fighting, although no comprehensive peace agreement followed. The latest offensive has effectively reopened major battlefronts, with the Houthis rapidly expanding from their traditional northern strongholds toward Yemen’s western and southern approaches.
The humanitarian consequences are already severe. UN agencies have reported that more than 100,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen since the latest escalation, while thousands more have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Djibouti. The UN says more than 22 million Yemenis require humanitarian assistance this year, including millions facing acute food insecurity.
The fighting also carries consequences beyond Yemen. The Bab el-Mandeb is a major route for international trade and energy shipments, and its disruption could add pressure to already strained global oil and shipping markets. Saudi Arabia has already been forced to adjust some export routes amid wider disruptions across the region.
For now, the Houthis are continuing their push into the highlands while Saudi-backed forces attempt to contain the advance. The reported U.S. decision to hold off on airstrikes leaves Washington balancing its support for Saudi Arabia against the risk of opening another direct U.S. military front in an already widening Middle East conflict.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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