Saudi Arabia is preparing a possible offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, with Riyadh considering either a focused operation to retake areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait or a broader assault on several fronts, Reuters reported Friday, citing regional and Western officials.
The operation could begin in the coming weeks and would rely on Yemeni forces overseen by Saudi Arabia, supported by Saudi airstrikes. More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized depending on the scope of the campaign.
The United States is providing intelligence and targeting support, while other regional and European allies are supplying primarily defensive assistance. Those allies are not expected to participate directly in combat operations, according to the Reuters report.
One of Riyadh’s main objectives is to reverse recent Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the group’s seizure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The two options under consideration are a limited assault around the strategic waterway or a larger campaign involving coordinated attacks in Al-Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al-Jawf.
Saudi Arabia entered Yemen’s civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition supporting the internationally recognized government after the Houthis seized Sanaa. A 2022 truce largely halted cross-border fighting until July of this year, when the conflict intensified amid the broader war with Iran.
The Houthis subsequently seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline, including the port city of Mokha and three strategically important islands overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb.
The Houthi advances have also been accompanied by attacks on southern Saudi cities including Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, in which 73 civilians, including women and children, were wounded.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)