ADEN (South24 Center)

Field and local sources said on Thursday (September 10) that the Houthi militia had completed its takeover of Al-Hodeidah Governorate after advancing into Hays and Al-Khawkhah in the south of the governorate, following the withdrawal of the Joint Forces toward defensive lines closer to Al-Mokha and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The sources added that the Houthi advance had extended toward key areas along the Western Coast, including the Mawza junction and the vicinity of Khalid Camp, placing Al-Mokha and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait under direct military threat if the group continues advancing southward and westward.

In the same context, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing four Yemeni government military sources, that the Houthis were moving closer to gaining a stranglehold over the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes for goods, as fighting with Saudi-backed forces appeared to be sliding toward a resumption of full-scale war.

The sources told Reuters that the Houthis were nearing complete control of coastal cities, including the historic port of Mocha and Dhubab, which lie directly along the strait, as part of the group’s push to control Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline.

Bab Al-Mandab forms the southern gateway to the Red Sea, separating Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast, and serves as a strategic corridor for global trade and energy supplies.

Local accounts circulated an image they said showed Houthi fighters inside Hays, southern Al-Hodeidah, following the withdrawal of the Joint Forces from the city.

#BREAKING

Circulating image appears to show Houthi fighters taking control of Hays city, southern Hodeidah#south24 pic.twitter.com/qWIyaNf3Dy

— South24 | English (@South24E) September 10, 2026

Areas in southern Al-Hodeidah and western Taiz have witnessed large-scale displacement, particularly from locations close to the frontlines, amid fears that the fighting could spread toward Al-Mokha and the vicinity of Bab Al-Mandab.

In the first comment on the latest developments, the National Resistance’s military media said the Joint Forces had established a command center south of Al-Mokha after Houthi breakthroughs on several combat axes under intense firepower involving various types of weapons.

The military media quoted Presidential Leadership Council Vice President Tariq Saleh as saying that Western Coast forces, including the National Resistance, the Giants Brigades, the National Shield Forces, and units from the Taiz Axis, had paid a heavy price in dead and wounded over recent days while confronting a Houthi offensive that he said had been planned and supported by Iran.

Saleh added that he had ordered the establishment of an alternative command center in a secure location to regroup the forces, in consultation with the leadership of the Arab Coalition and the Presidential Leadership Council.

A military source told South24 Center that the Third and Fifth Brigades of the National Shield Forces had returned to the Al-Anad Axis after taking part in reinforcing the Western Coast fronts last Saturday.

The developments come after days of intense fighting in Maqbanah, Al-Kadhah, Al-Barh, Mawza, and southern Al-Hodeidah, accompanied by Houthi attacks involving missiles, drones, and explosive-laden boats, amid conflicting accounts over the extent of territorial control and losses on both sides.

Government forces had announced on September 5 that they had fully recaptured Hays District from the Houthis after retaking its rural areas and securing them, before battlefield developments shifted rapidly in the Houthis’ favor over the following days.