Deadly Houthi strikes raise stakes on Yemen’s western coast
ADEN – Yemen’s western coast faced a sharp escalation after the Houthis launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks on the Red Sea port city of Mocha, killing seven people and wounding 30 less than a day after an earlier barrage killed at least 11, Yemeni military officials said on Monday.
The latest assault on Sunday evening killed four military personnel and three civilians, while most of the 30 wounded were civilians, the armed forces said. Air defences intercepted and destroyed 11 Houthi drones, while two ballistic missiles were reported to have fallen into the sea without hitting their intended targets.
The military said the Houthis struck civilian infrastructure, homes, electricity-generating stations and military positions inside Mocha, a government-held city that has become an important stronghold along Yemen’s western coastline.
It vowed to retaliate, saying the attack amounted to an assault on the armed forces as a whole.
“We possess the will, capability and initiative necessary to neutralize the sources of the threat,” military spokesperson Colonel Wahed Abdullah Al-Nazzal said.
The latest deaths followed an earlier Houthi barrage on Mocha on Sunday that killed at least 11 people, including eight military personnel and three civilians, and wounded 32 others.
The first attack also caused extensive damage to the city’s commercial port. Yemeni authorities said buildings and commercial facilities were struck, while the Associated Press reported damage to port infrastructure, commercial goods and food supplies.
Government forces said they also intercepted and destroyed an unmanned explosive boat approaching the commercial port.
The attacks marked a renewed escalation along a strategically important stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, where forces aligned with the internationally-recognised government have sought to consolidate their positions while the Houthis maintain control over much of northern Yemen.
The National Resistance Forces, which are aligned with the government and led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh, urged residents to remain indoors during the renewed attacks and accused the Houthis of indiscriminate shelling.
The Houthis said the operation was a response to what they described as a continuing Saudi military build-up, including the deployment of weapons and equipment to allied forces along the western coast and in Taiz province.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the operation involved multiple ballistic missiles and drones and targeted Saudi troop concentrations and weapons depots. Al Masirah television, which is affiliated with the Houthis, broadcast footage showing the launch of several missiles and drones.
Houthi political council member Hizam al-Assad said the fires, explosions and columns of smoke seen around Mocha’s port were linked to large quantities of weapons and military equipment stored there.
The government has not confirmed those claims.
The escalation was not confined to Mocha. Houthi attacks also reached the al-Khokha district south of Hodeidah, another government-aligned area on the Red Sea coast.
Al-Jumhuriya television, affiliated with the National Resistance Forces, reported that Hodeidah governor Hassan Taher survived an assassination attempt after a Houthi ballistic missile struck his residence in al-Khokha on Sunday.
The attacks highlight the widening geographic scope of the latest confrontation and the continued vulnerability of government-held areas along Yemen’s western coastline.
Mocha, located near one of the world’s most important maritime corridors, has both military and commercial significance. Its port has become an increasingly important node for trade and the movement of supplies, making damage to its infrastructure particularly sensitive for an economy already devastated by more than a decade of conflict.
The successive strikes also demonstrate the continuing ability of the Houthis to threaten government-held territory with missiles, drones and other weapons despite efforts to strengthen air defences and protect strategic sites.
The Yemeni armed forces said they would maintain operations against the Iran-backed Houthis while prioritising the protection of civilians and civilian property.
The latest violence comes amid Yemen’s wider and unresolved conflict, in which the Houthis control the capital Sanaa and large parts of the north and west, while government-aligned forces and rival armed groups hold territory across the south and along parts of the Red Sea coast.
With the attacks now hitting military positions, residential areas, power facilities and commercial infrastructure, the latest escalation risks further destabilising one of Yemen’s most strategically important regions and placing additional pressure on an already fragile civilian population.