Yemeni government officials confirmed to Reuters that Iran-backed Houthi forces have captured the strategic port city of Mocha on the Red Sea coast, according to reports cited by The Zioneer. The capture gives the Houthis a territorial corridor near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical maritime chokepoint. The group has seized over 2,500 square kilometers along the coast in recent days.
This morning, Yemeni government officials confirmed to Reuters that Iran-backed Houthi forces have captured the strategic port city of Mocha on the Red Sea coast, as reported by The Zioneer at 12:59 Jerusalem time. The capture gives the Houthis a territorial corridor near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical maritime chokepoint through which a significant portion of global trade passes.
The confirmation follows a rapid sequence of reports today. At 01:44, The Zioneer published an analysis noting that the Houthi capture of Camp Khalid and Hayz had reshaped the security balance along the Red Sea. At 04:31, multiple bulletins reported Houthi advances, including the capture of Camp Khalid and the towns of Hays, Al-Khawkha, and Yakhtul. At 12:15, Houthi-aligned sources claimed the capture of approximately 2,600 square kilometers along the coast in the past 24 hours. At 12:16, unofficial Israeli media reports (N12) said Houthi forces had taken control of Mocha. The official confirmation from Yemeni government officials now corroborates those earlier claims.
The Houthi movement, as The Zioneer has reported, is a key component of the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance." Control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait threatens global maritime trade. The analysis published at 01:44 noted that the territorial gains improve Houthi capability to deploy anti-ship missiles and strengthen their negotiating position in any future settlement.
No casualty figures have been reported. The next likely targets, as earlier reports indicated, are the city of Taiz and the coastal city of Dhubab. The international response to the Houthi advance remains unclear.
10 developments
- DevelopingHouthis and IRGC capture western Yemen coast, seize Az-Zubab, advance toward Bab el-Mandeb
- DevelopingHouthis seize Hanish Islands group, tightening grip on Red Sea shipping lanes
- StrongHouthi capture of Bab el-Mandeb coast could enable full strait blockade, The Zioneer assesses
- StrongHouthis declared naval siege on Bab el-Mandeb last week, sparking Saudi confrontation
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