Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have reported inflicting significant losses on Houthi rebels, killing or wounding 1,540 fighters in the past 24 hours. Military spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili stated on Friday evening that approximately 500 operations were conducted using warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers across various regions of the country.
According to al-Nazili, the majority of the casualties occurred in the Taiz governorate, where the military offensive successfully halted a Houthi advance. The government-held city of Taiz has emerged as a central battleground in the renewed hostilities. The army’s statement did not disclose any casualties among government troops.
On Saturday, the army’s media official Ammar al-Sami’i announced the closure of the al-Houban crossing in Taiz. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sami’i attributed the decision to security concerns following attempted Houthi infiltrations, nearby attacks, and a general military buildup. The crossing, which had been sealed for nine years before being reopened to civilians in 2024 for humanitarian purposes, serves as a vital link between Houthi-controlled al-Houban and government-held Taiz.
The escalation follows the collapse of a fragile truce agreed upon in 2022, which disintegrated in July. Fighting intensified dramatically after mid-September, when Houthi forces captured the port city of Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Anti-Houthi forces have since stabilized the front lines, though hundreds of thousands remain displaced.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the recognized government to retreat to Aden. The ongoing conflict has severely impacted the population, with the UN reporting that three out of four households face hunger in certain areas.
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