Yemen’s army says recaptured key territory as clashes with Houthis continue

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Anadolu. Published On 4 Sep 20264 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Yemeni administration forces recaptured al-Khazan and al-Makahna hills in Jabal Habashi district west of Taiz city, according to a statement on Friday.
• A Houthi source informed Al Jazeera that more than 100 fighters have been killed from both sides since the start of the offensive on Thursday.
• Over 120 individuals were killed in Yemen since the Houthis rolled out their advance, according to an AFP casualty toll.
• The Houthis captured territories since Thursday mainly in western Taiz including a strategic military base, a administration military official informed Al Jazeera.
• According to Administration military sources, reinforcements had arrived to counter the Houthi advances in western Taiz, Saba documented.

As heavy clashes with Houthi rebels continue in the southwest of the country, yemen's army say they have recaptured strategically significant territory.

After the rebel group rolled out a broad offensive along front lines on the coast, the clashes between administration forces and Houthi fighters continued for the second day in western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, two governorates along the Red Sea coast.

For context, a Houthi source informed Al Jazeera that more than 100 fighters have been killed from both sides since the start of the offensive on Thursday.

While another military official documented the deaths of 15 others in clashes in Taiz, a Yemeni military official informed Al Jazeera that 24 administration troops were killed near the west coast. Medical sources in Houthi-controlled areas documented that at least 42 fighters had been killed.

For context, a number of civilians were killed and others injured in a ballistic missile attack that hit a restaurant in the coastal city of al-Makha (Mocha), state-run Saba TV noted. Over 120 individuals were killed in Yemen since the Houthis rolled out their advance, according to an AFP casualty toll. Battle for the coast.

For context, the Houthis aim to control the hills overlooking Bab al-Mandeb and al-Makha before attacking the coast, a Yemeni official in Aden, the internationally recognised government's base, informed the AFP.

Meanwhile, the Houthis captured territories since Thursday mainly in western Taiz including a strategic military base, a administration military official informed Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry, reporting from the Yemeni capital Sanaa, remarked that the aim of the Houthi offensive "seems to be gaining territories towards the city and Red Sea port of al-Makha".

In practice, the Houthis controlled the port city of al-Makha. It overlooks the Bab al-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, before being driven out in 2017 by administration forces and Saudi-led coalition.

Meanwhile, the rebel group declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in July.

Meanwhile, the Houthis want to employ Bab al-Mandeb for "military strategic calculation which experts believe could be meaningful in the wars to come against Saudi Arabia or against Israel", Mawry went on.

For now, yemen's army says recaptured key territory as clashes with Houthis continue remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.