Yemeni forces seize key Bab el-Mandeb positions as 'Dawn of Yemen' offensive launches
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces say they have taken Dhubab district and key positions overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb strait as the Saudi-led coalition launches the 'Dawn of Yemen' offensive with 100 jets; rival battlefield claims could not be independently verified.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces seized key positions on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Monday, three military sources and one government source told Reuters, taking large parts of Dhubab district and asserting full control of the area with heavy air support from the Saudi-led coalition (https://www.reuters.com/world/yemeni-government-forces-seize-district-by-bab-el-mandeb-military-sources-say-2026-10-05/).
The Saudi-led coalition said 100 fighter jets took part in launching the “Dawn of Yemen” military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said 324 “high-value targets” had been destroyed since the launch, with round-the-clock air support and air protection for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/100-saudi-led-coalition-jets-join-yemen-dawn-offensive-against-houthis/).
Yemeni military spokesman Lt. Col. Majid Abdullah al-Nuzayli said government forces had captured Dhubab airport and cut the Dhubab–Mokha road, establishing fire control over the route, with hundreds of Houthi fighters surrounded in the Dhubab area and some fleeing by boat. Arab News reported large parts of Dhubab under government control, while AP reported government-aligned forces attacking Houthi positions; the competing battlefield claims could not be independently verified.
The Yemeni army also said 1,747 Houthi fighters were “neutralised” in 1,122 operations across Saada, al-Jawf and Taiz and the western coast, figures Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/5/yemen-war-escalates-whats-the-latest-on-the-battlefield). Houthi-aligned media earlier denied government advances, and a Houthi-run news agency said the group drove government forces from the al-Mawasit district of Taiz, reaching the home of presidential council chairman Rashad al-Alimi.
The offensive follows al-Alimi’s Sunday announcement of a campaign to retake Houthi-held territory, and came as Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Riyadh for talks with Saudi and Turkish counterparts under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
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