Houthis seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast and gain control of Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi group has rapidly seized the country’s Red Sea coastline and islands, bringing the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait under its control. The advance underscores the group’s evolution from a local militia into a regional force able to disrupt shipping and strike Saudi energy facilities.

Origins and expansion

The Houthis began in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shi’ite Muslim revival movement in northern Yemen led by the Houthi family. The group fought six wars against the government, developing a strong local militia.

After Yemen’s central state disintegrated during the 2011 Arab Spring, the Houthis gained territory and developed ties with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

In 2014, the group seized the capital, Sanaa, ousting the government and halting a Gulf-backed political transition.

War and ceasefire

The Houthi takeover prompted a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government. The conflict developed into years of civil war before reaching a stalemate and a ceasefire in 2022.

During Israel’s war in Gaza from 2023 to 2025, the Houthis fired missiles and drones at Israel and international shipping in the Red Sea, saying the attacks were in solidarity with Palestinians.

With Iran, their closest ally, under attack by the United States since February 28, the Houthis have resumed firing at Red Sea shipping and energy facilities inside Saudi Arabia.

Advance on the Red Sea coast

The ceasefire collapsed in recent weeks, with fighting resuming along former front lines in the northern governorates of Marib and Jawf, the southern highlands city of Taiz, central Yemen’s Dhale and the Red Sea coastal strip known as the Tihama.

Last week, the Houthis advanced rapidly through the southern Tihama, first taking the port city of Mocha and then the remaining Red Sea coastline and islands. Their positions now extend along the shore of the 12-mile-wide, or 19-kilometre-wide, Bab el-Mandeb Strait.