Yemeni government forces announced on Monday, 5 October 2026, that after heavy fighting they had retaken the port of Mokha on the Red Sea coast from the Islamic Republic-backed Houthis. The news came a day after the launch of Operation "Dawn of Yemen", whose goal, according to Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, is to recapture Houthi-held areas, including Sanaa.
According to The National, Yemeni military sources say a number of Houthi fighters in Mokha were captured and the rest fled. These forces also claim to have taken control of the Dhubab area and positions along the Bab al-Mandeb strait. According to the same sources, hundreds of Houthi fighters were surrounded in Dhubab; some surrendered and others fled by boat. The Houthis had controlled Mokha since late August.
Coalition air support
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said 100 fighter jets are taking part in Operation "Dawn of Yemen" and that 324 what he called "high-value" Houthi targets have been destroyed so far. According to Iran International, around 200 US military advisers are supporting the operation from Saudi planning centres.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said of the offensive that it is natural for Yemeni forces to try to retake territory from which they had been driven, and stressed Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself against Houthi attacks.
The recapture of Mokha is the first major battlefield victory for Yemeni government forces in Operation "Dawn of Yemen" against the Islamic Republic-backed Houthis.
Houthi reaction and humanitarian toll
The Houthi-controlled health ministry has reported civilian deaths in air strikes on Sanaa, including a woman on a farm and a girl in a strike on a car. The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah network confirmed the strikes on the capital, and the group's maritime authority warned airlines about flying in Saudi airspace. The Houthis had earlier claimed a missile and drone attack on Aramco facilities in Riyadh.
According to the World Health Organization, as cited by The National, more than 5,000 people have been killed or wounded in Yemen since 6 August, cholera cases have tripled in three weeks and nearly 200,000 people have been displaced.
The Bab al-Mandeb strait is, alongside the Strait of Hormuz, one of the two sea passages where attacks by forces linked to the Islamic Republic have disrupted shipping in recent months; the loss of Houthi positions in this area could reduce Tehran's ability to put pressure on energy routes.
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