Saudi-Led ‘Dawn of Yemen’ Operation Puts Bab el‑Mandeb Back in the Crosshairs
Saudi‑backed Yemeni forces say they’ve launched a major offensive, "Operation Dawn of Yemen," claiming gains near the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait with heavy Saudi air support, while Houthi forces deny any strategic advance. Control of this narrow Red Sea gateway shapes the safety of global shipping and the balance of power in Yemen’s war.
A Saudi‑backed offensive in Yemen is turning the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait into a live front line again, raising both military and maritime stakes at one of the world’s key shipping chokepoints. The Saudi‑aligned Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) says it has launched a broad campaign, branded "Operation Dawn of Yemen," aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and, ultimately, retaking the capital Sana’a.
Rashad al‑Alimi, the Saudi‑backed head of the PLC, announced the operation publicly, promising that Yemen would move toward what he called “a new dawn” with the backing of its regional allies. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said 100 fighter jets took part in strikes on Houthi targets on Monday, an unusually large daily air commitment even by the standards of this long war.
Yemeni government‑aligned sources claim that, in a counteroffensive supported by heavy Saudi air cover, PLC forces have retaken Murad, described as the very tip of Bab el‑Mandeb, along with Dhubab Airport on the nearby coast. They also report advances along the Bab el‑Mandeb front more broadly. These claims, amplified on Saudi‑linked outlets, suggest a drive to pry open a coastal corridor that could anchor claims to effective control over the strait itself.
Houthi officials and media tied to the movement push back on that narrative. They say Ansarallah, the formal name for the Houthi movement, still controls the city of Dhubab and the Al‑Omari mountain area, a fortified high ground overlooking key approaches. Independent observers describe Al‑Omari, with its entrenched positions and camp, as a critical defensive node. Any PLC attempt to hold Bab el‑Mandeb in more than name would likely require seizing that terrain, not just the airfield and nearby settlements.
For civilians in southwestern Yemen, renewed large‑scale airstrikes and ground maneuvers mean another round of displacement, disrupted aid deliveries and heightened risk from unexploded ordnance. The Bab el‑Mandeb area has a sparse but highly vulnerable coastal population that already lives close to sea‑lanes crowded with tankers and container ships. A sustained offensive could push families toward improvised camps further inland, complicating humanitarian access in a region where aid logistics depend heavily on road security.
For shipowners, insurers and navies, the consequences are more direct. Bab el‑Mandeb links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden; traffic bound to or from the Suez Canal must transit this narrow channel. Over the past year, Houthi missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have driven up war‑risk premiums and forced some operators to divert around the Cape of Good Hope. A Saudi‑backed push that changes who holds coastal guns, radar sites or launch pads along the Yemeni shore could either ease or further complicate those calculations, depending on how solid and enduring any gains prove to be.
Regionally, the new operation signals that Riyadh is again willing to use intensive airpower in Yemen despite tentative de‑escalation efforts earlier in the conflict. It also lands as Saudi Arabia and its partners face Houthi attacks beyond Yemen’s borders, including claimed strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are moving to institutionalize a trilateral defense pact, according to public statements from their officials, suggesting that the kingdom is knitting wider security ties even as it re‑engages in Yemen.
The offensive fits a broader pattern of actors using leverage over maritime chokepoints—from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz—as both a military asset and a bargaining chip. Bab el‑Mandeb risk does not automatically shut lanes, but each new report of missile launches or shifting front lines forces ship operators and governments to reassess what level of danger they are prepared to accept.
The key questions now are whether PLC forces can consolidate and hold their claimed gains under sustained Houthi counter‑attack, whether they push on toward Al‑Omari to threaten Houthi depth positions, and how far Saudi airpower is prepared to go if the operation stalls. Clear, verifiable changes in who controls Dhubab town, the Al‑Omari camp and adjacent coastal artillery positions will show whether "Dawn of Yemen" is reshaping the map or mainly shifting front lines by a few contested kilometers.
Sources
- OSINT