A Saudi-led coalition announced it had commenced a major aerial offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen, with coalition spokesperson Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki stating that 100 fighter jets were participating in what was designated Operation Dawn of Yemen. The campaign targeted positions along the Red Sea coastline and in the capital, Sana’a, with stated objectives of supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government and securing control of the strategically important Bab al-Mandab strait.
Coalition forces claimed to have destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets and reported that hundreds of Houthi fighters had been besieged in the Dhubab district, with some reportedly fleeing across the Red Sea by boat. Ground forces aligned with the Saudi-backed government, identified as the Giants Brigades, launched a coordinated offensive on the eastern flank of areas recently captured by the Houthis. Government forces stated they had severed a key road between Mocha and Dhubab, and reported that Houthi forces were withdrawing from the recently seized city of Mocha. The president of the Saudi-backed government, Rashad al-Alimi, had announced the offensive on the previous day, characterising it as a decisive turning point.
The operation represents a notable shift in regional dynamics, particularly given recent tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates regarding their competing interests in Yemen. The coordination between Saudi air forces and the Giants Brigades, an Emirates-aligned faction, marks a reversal from January when Saudi forces had conducted airstrikes against UAE arms shipments destined for the same brigades, triggering an Emirati withdrawal from Yemen.
Houthi officials denied reports of retreat and pointed to explosions at a Saudi Aramco facility in Riyadh as evidence of their continued capability to strike regional infrastructure. The Houthis, who have controlled Sana’a since 2014, have made significant territorial advances down Yemen’s western coast in recent weeks. Separately, senior officials from Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia convened in Riyadh to discuss potential defence arrangements to address the Houthi threat, though operational details of any new joint defence pact remained unspecified.
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