Houthi Gains in Al Jawf and Toward Mokha Raise Stakes Around Bab el‑Mandeb
Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces are advancing in Yemen’s Al Jawf and toward the coastal city of Mokha, while publicizing anti-tank missile strikes and claims of captured Saudi-backed fighters and destroyed vehicles.
A cluster of battlefield reports from Yemen points to steady Houthi advances on fronts that tie directly into Red Sea and Bab el‑Mandeb security.
In Al Jawf governorate, Ansar Allah (Houthis) released footage of guided missile strikes on vehicles belonging to forces of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC). Open-source weapons analysis linked the strikes to Iranian-made Dehlavieh anti-tank guided missiles, which are based on the Russian 9M133-1/2 Kornet design.
Separate Houthi statements from the same area said their fighters had repelled an advance by Saudi-backed forces east of Al Jawf, claiming multiple captured combatants and neutralized positions.
Farther west, Houthi-aligned forces are reported to be advancing toward the coastal city of Mokha as Saudi-backed troops pull back. Pro-Houthi accounts present this as part of a broader movement that extends their reach along Yemen’s western littoral.
For fighters on both sides, each vehicle destroyed by a Dehlavieh missile and each captured position means losses that shape morale and local power balances. For communities in these zones, shifting front lines bring risks of displacement and new security forces.
Strategically, control in Al Jawf influences inland routes, while gains toward Mokha plug into a wider Houthi effort to strengthen their position along the Red Sea coast and increase leverage over access to the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.
Future developments to watch include independent confirmation of territorial changes in Al Jawf and near Mokha, any escalation in Saudi air activity to counter these advances, and whether Houthi operations on land line up with further threats to shipping or energy infrastructure linked to the Red Sea chokepoint.
Sources
- OSINT