Houthi Reinforcements Signal New Frontline Push

The Iranian-supported Houthis have steadily built up forces along key frontlines in Yemen and readied potential offensives throughout the past month. These preparations have now produced multiple incidents over the last 96 hours that appear connected.

Details on the Houthis movements are drawn chiefly from Al-Ain News in the UAE. The outlet possesses reliable security sources inside Yemen. As a UAE-based outlet, Al-Ain opposes the Houthis and aligns with Emirati and, to a degree, Saudi perspectives on the conflict.

Intense Clashes Erupt in Hodeidah Governorate

A Yemeni government military official informed Al-Ain that Houthi fighters launched an assault on a frontline position inside Hodeidah Governorate, a vital coastal zone. Dozens of National Resistance fighters and Houthi militants were killed or wounded on Saturday during the heaviest fighting between the sides in the southern countryside of Hodeidah Governorate in western Yemen, the report stated.

The clashes began after Houthi forces moved their largest reinforcements yet into the Dabbas Mountains and areas south of Al-Jarahi, attempting to seize strategic high ground overlooking the city of Hays south of Hodeidah along the Red Sea coast. The Houthi attack represented their most concentrated effort to date, with militants advancing on the ground beneath heavy supporting fire in a bid to establish fire superiority over Hays.

Houthi Militias Rely on Mortars and Snipers

Al-Ain further reported that the media officer of the Second Brigade Zaraniq al-Murabit on this front noted the Houthi militias depended on mortar barrages and sniper teams during their push toward key positions intended to place Hays under fire control. Local anti-Houthi forces in the Hays area have criticized the UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen, arguing it blocks their ability to advance. Recent reports also indicated Iranian attempts to fly an aircraft into Sanaa, the Houthi capital, which Saudi forces sought to block.

A local source asked Al-Ain how long forces would remain constrained by truce terms that stop them from responding forcefully to Houthi treachery and surprise attacks. The Yemen National Resistance, which opposes the Houthis, suffered the loss of 14 soldiers.

Yemeni Authorities Dismantle Houthi Assassination Cell

Separately, Al-Ain reported that Yemeni authorities announced on Saturday the breakup of a terrorist cell tied to the Iranian-backed Houthi militias. The cell had been active in assassination operations and was neutralized during a well-planned security sweep in Aden. The National Resistance stated that its intelligence units, working with the State Security Service in Aden, dismantled the assassination cell after luring its members to a hotel in the interim capital. The assassins had already killed a journalist and planned to target a general in June. The National Resistance had earlier captured another Houthi cell linked to the killing of Brig. Gen. Yahya Wahish, commander of the First Infantry Division, as the suspects attempted to flee across the Red Sea from the coast near Al-Khokha city south of Hodeidah.