Sawt Falasteen - Yemen's Houthis seize key city on Red Sea: military source

The Houthis, who control large parts of northwest Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Yemeni government forces, who are backed by Saudi Arabia.

They also launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens of people wounded, in a conflict that has reignited during the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Witnesses told AFP they saw Houthi forces entering Mokha on Thursday while chanting "death to America, death to Israel".

The Yemeni military source said they were advancing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait "after having taken control of Mokha".

The waterway, which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal, has gained importance as a transit route since the start of the wider Middle East war, which saw Iran blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The military source said the Houthis also seized Zuqar Island, in the southern Red Sea, "after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters".

Also on Thursday, the Houthis reported airstrikes.

"The Saudi enemy's air force conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in the governorates of Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib," Houthi news agency Saba said.

- Hundreds dead -

Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.

Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.

It has also forced nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the anti-government fighters fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi civil defence issued alerts warning of "potential danger" in two areas, Khamis Mushait and Abha, before lifting them soon after.

The Houthis triggered the return to hostilities in July when they let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.

The government retaliated by striking Sanaa airport, an attack the Houthis blamed on its sponsor, Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing exchanges risk returning Yemen to a conflict that left hundreds of thousands of people dead and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The Houthis, after seizing Yemen's capital and forcing out the internationally recognised government, fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST