More than 80 combatants killed in fresh wave of fighting between Yemeni forces and Houthi rebels

More than 80 fighters have been killed in Yemen since Thursday as clashes intensified between government forces and Houthi rebels, according to a combined tally drawn from two military officials and medical sources operating in rebel controlled territory.

A military official stationed along the Red Sea coast reported that 24 of his men had been killed in the fighting, while another official in the inland Taiz region said 15 government fighters had died there. Medical sources in areas under Houthi control separately reported that at least 42 Houthi militants had been killed since the violence began.

The latest round of fighting erupted on Thursday after Houthi forces launched fourteen ballistic missiles alongside multiple drone attacks against populated districts along Yemen’s western coast in the Taiz and Hodeidah provinces, according to the Yemeni Armed Forces Media Centre. Military and government sources said the rebels appeared to be attempting to cut off the strategically important port city of Mokha, which has come under sustained attack for weeks, from surrounding government held areas, while also pushing toward territory bordering the Bab al Mandab strait, one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors.

A military source quoted by the media centre said air defence units had intercepted several drones along the Taiz front as well as additional drones targeting districts along the western coast. The source described Yemeni forces as maintaining high combat readiness and strong morale, adding that military units across multiple sectors continued to operate with a heightened level of vigilance. None of the ballistic missiles fired during the initial assault struck positions held by government forces along the coast, the source said.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil conflict for more than a decade, pitting the Houthi movement against the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi led coalition. The country became further entangled in the broader Middle East conflict in July, when the Houthis abandoned a truce with the Saudi backed government that had held since 2022, reigniting hostilities that had remained largely dormant for several years.

The renewed fighting adds to mounting concerns among regional observers that the collapse of the 2022 truce could reverse years of relative calm across much of Yemen, further straining a population already facing severe humanitarian need after more than a decade of conflict. Aid organizations operating in the country have repeatedly warned that continued instability threatens to disrupt the delivery of food, fuel and medical supplies to millions of Yemenis who depend on humanitarian assistance to survive.