Yemeni forces launch counteroffensive against Houthis, vow to retake Sanaa

Video Duration 03 minutes 21 seconds 03: 21.

Key points

• It remarked an estimated 21, 000 residents – roughly 3, 000 families – have been displaced from Taiz alone.
• Major-General Samir Al-Sabri, Yemen's deputy defence minister, remarked in remarks broadcast on state television on Monday that "the decision has been made to retake Sanaa".
• When administration forces struck the Houthi-controlled airport in Sanaa, blocking the landing of an aircraft from Iran, fighting in Yemen resumed in July.
• That strait is a vital corridor for shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
• "Al-Jawf is particularly important because it borders Saudi Arabia and connects towards Saada, the Houthis' main stronghold, " he remarked.

Yemen fighting escalates as gov't forces launch air strikes on Houthi targets. By Al Jazeera Staff. Published On 8 Sep 20268 Sep 2026.

Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised administration have rolled out counterattacks against the Houthi rebels, with authorities saying they aim to recapture the capital, Sanaa, more than a decade after the Iran-backed group seized it.

Notably, the announcement came as fighting intensified in the provinces of al-Bayda and al-Jawf, seen as the main gateway to the capital. The Houthis remarked seven residents were killed in a strike on a prison in al-Hazm in al-Jawf.

Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesman for Yemen's government-aligned forces, remarked on Monday that the objective of the campaign was to "liberate Yemen from the grip" of the Houthis "and restore Sanaa as a capital for all Yemenis".

He additionally cautioned civilians to avoid a number of major roads leading into Sanaa, saying the alert applies to routes connecting the capital with Marib and al-Jawf, including roads through Nihm, Sirwah, Mahliyah and al-Hazm.

Notably, the renewed hostilities mark one of the most serious escalations since a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 halted large-scale fighting in a war that began after the Houthis took Sanaa in 2014. The capture of the capital prompted a Saudi-led military intervention the after year.

Diplomats had hoped the truce in 2022 would evolve into a durable political settlement, but those efforts have faltered against the backdrop of regional tensions triggered by the war rolled out by the United States and Israel against Iran.

When administration forces struck the Houthi-controlled airport in Sanaa, blocking the landing of an aircraft from Iran, fighting in Yemen resumed in July. Then last week, the Houthis introduced a major offensive, trying to advance through western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, towards the port city of al-Makha and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

Earlier, the Houthis had declared a blockade against Saudi vessels transiting the waterway.

That strait is a vital corridor for shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It has taken on new significance for Saudi oil exports since Iran began restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz at the outset of the US and Israel's war on the country.

Ahmed al-Shalafi, Al Jazeera's Yemen affairs editor, remarked Yemeni administration forces appear "to have absorbed the initial shock" of the rebel offensive "and expanded the fighting across several fronts, partly to stretch Houthi forces and increase pressure on them".

He remarked the fighting was mainly concentrated west of Taiz and south of Hodeidah on Thursday, but has now spread to the provinces of al-Dhalea, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda.

"Al-Jawf is particularly important because it borders Saudi Arabia and connects towards Saada, the Houthis' main stronghold, " he remarked. "Al-Bayda is strategically significant because it lies at the centre of Yemen and connects eight governorates – four in the north and four in the south." The fighting has resulted in hundreds of casualties.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization remarked on Monday that almost 900 individuals have been killed or wounded since Thursday, with the majority in Taiz and along the western coast. It remarked an estimated 21, 000 residents – roughly 3, 000 families – have been displaced from Taiz alone. Health authorities say the casualty count is anticipated to rise further.

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen's Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, asserted sweeping gains against the Houthis on Monday, crediting administration forces with advances in al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Taiz and Hodeidah.

"Our armed forces will continue to carry out their constitutional duty until state institutions are restored and their authority extends over the entire territory of Yemen, " al-Alimi remarked in an official note. He accused the Houthis of choosing escalation over peace, warning that the group would bear full responsibility for the consequences of its actions.

Meanwhile, the media centre of the government-aligned forces documented carrying out a number of air attacks against Houthi positions west of Taiz on Tuesday. Earlier, they had asserted attacks on Yatma in al-Jawf and stated their forces were "engaged in intensive battles" against the Houthis in the province.

According to The media centre, government-aligned forces had additionally advanced to the outskirts of Dhi Na'im district in al-Bayda.

For their part, the Houthis remarked they repelled a large-scale advance by Saudi-backed forces towards the al-Labanat mountains in al-Jawf.

In a post on X, Mohammed al-Farah, a member of the Houthi political bureau, asserted that dozens of government-aligned fighters were killed or wounded and that Houthi forces additionally targeted reinforcements in al-Jawf with a number of ballistic missiles.

He remarked the strikes destroyed or damaged dozens of vehicles and armoured vehicles, and maintained that commanders were among those killed or wounded.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims by the Houthis or the Yemeni administration.

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