Houthis seize Bab el-Mandeb Strait, expanding regional military reach

Yemen's Houthi movement has captured the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key Red Sea chokepoint, after a rapid advance along the southern Tihama coast that included the port city of Mocha. The gain gives the group the capacity to block shipping routes used for Saudi oil exports to Asia and could serve as a staging area for further operations toward Aden. Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes supporting government-aligned forces.

The Houthis, originally a Zaydi revivalist group formed in the late 1990s, seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014 and have since fought a protracted civil war against a Saudi-backed coalition. After a 2022 ceasefire collapsed, fighting resumed across multiple governorates, including Marib, Jawf, Taiz, Dhale and the Red Sea coastal strip.

The movement's missile and drone capabilities have expanded, with ballistic missiles reaching Israel and Saudi targets, and drones striking Saudi infrastructure and Red Sea vessels. United Nations expert panels report that the Houthis have developed these systems through domestic manufacturing and technical assistance, while also receiving weapons and expertise from Iran, despite Tehran's denial of arms transfers.

Analysts note that Iranian and Hezbollah training, as well as the presence of Iranian Qods Force personnel, have helped transform the group from a militia into a more organized force of roughly 350,000 fighters, including minors. The Houthis continue to employ infiltration, drone attacks, artillery shelling and mine laying along front lines.