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Bab al-Mandab strait clashes kill at least 63 as Yemen says advance falls short
Fighting around Yemen's Bab al-Mandab strait killed at least 63 people in 24 hours before Saturday, military sources from both sides said, as the Saudi-backed government reported advancing against the Houthis without yet securing the waterway.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 10, 2026
• 3 Min Read
A heavy two-day toll around the waterway
Military sources on both sides of Yemen's war put the human cost of the strait fighting at its centre: at least 63 people were killed in the 24 hours before Saturday, with 35 of them government forces and 28 Houthis, according to the casualty figures reported by AFP.
How much of the frontline either side actually holds is harder to establish. Both warring parties are issuing claims that cannot be independently verified, with the situation moving fast on the ground and access for journalists difficult.
Government says advancing, Houthis say repelled
Yemen's internationally recognised government said on Saturday that its forces were advancing against the Houthis in areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait, but had not yet secured control of the waterway.
The Houthis confirmed government forces attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area, but said the assault failed. Hizam al-Asad, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, told AFP that Saudi-led forces attempted to advance from the Ras al-Ara area in Lahj governorate towards the area south of Bab al-Mandab.
"our forces repelled them outside the Bab al-Mandab zone, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment"
Al-Asad said Houthi forces maintain control over Bab al-Mandab, Mayun Island, and the remaining areas along the country's western coast.
Military sources of the Saudi-backed government gave a partial picture of their own: Mayun Island, located in the heart of the strait, remained in Houthi hands as fighting continued. On Friday, a Yemeni military source told AFP their forces had launched a "major operation" in the strait region, supported by air power from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi air campaign and strikes on both sides of the border
The fighting sits within a wider air campaign. Saudi Arabia leads an international military coalition helping the Yemeni government fight the Houthis, and early on Saturday the Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed more than 130 Houthi targets in a "large-scale operation".
The Houthis' own media reported strikes falling on territory they hold, and on targets inside Saudi Arabia:
- •Al-Masirah TV reported on Saturday that enemy strikes had targeted the Bab al-Mandab area.
- •The same channel reported four Saudi strikes on the capital Sanaa's international airport on Saturday, a day after reporting two people killed in a Saudi strike on the airport.
- •The Houthis have also attacked targets inside Saudi Arabia, including transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian sites, with drones and missiles.
- •Riyadh said on Friday that attacks on the Saudi capital's international airport had killed three people the previous day.
A war reignited and a population on the move
The push for the waterway comes a week after the country's Saudi-backed government announced it was initiating a counter-offensive to retake territory seized by the Houthis in the previous month. That operation aims to retake all areas held by the group after it seized Yemen's entire western coastline in a lightning offensive.
The counter-offensive follows a conflict that has flared anew: after four years of relative calm, Yemen's civil war reignited in July, before the Houthi gains on the western coastline. The cost to civilians has mounted since then - more than 200,000 people have been displaced since July, according to UN data.
As the fighting continued, the disputed ground stayed disputed: Mayun Island remained in Houthi hands, and neither side's claims about the strait could be independently verified.
