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The Houthi forces have reached the strategic Port of Mocha, near the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea, after taking control of the Hays and Al Jawja districts in the south of Al Hudayda province, Yemeni media reported this Thursday.
The private news portal Al-Masdar Online reported that Houthi forces seized Hays and Al Jawja, as well as large areas of several districts in the west of Taiz province.
Hays is one of the key combat fronts in the battle for Yemen's western coast due to its strategic location, which connects the southern districts of Al Hudayda with supply routes heading towards Mocha and Bab el-Mandeb.
The website noted that Houthi forces advanced towards the Port of Mocha, in Taiz province, after government forces withdrew south, towards Lahij province.
There was no immediate comment from government forces regarding this information.
Mocha is of great military importance as it is one of the Yemeni cities closest to Bab el-Mandeb, a vital international maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and used by vessels sailing to and from the Suez Canal.
According to an Anadolu agency correspondent, the Houthis appear to be pressuring the routes and supply lines connecting the provinces of Taiz and Al Hudayda with the aim of advancing towards the coastal fronts and isolating Mocha.
Early on Thursday, September 10, the National Resistance Forces, aligned with the Executive, announced the creation of a command center south of Mocha following Houthi advances on several fronts in western Yemen.
The Government's media office in Al Hudayda stated in a communiqué that military units operating on the Hays front, in southern Al Hudayda and western Taiz, are being reorganized.
Meanwhile, activists are circulating images on social media reportedly showing Houthi fighters after the capture of the Hays and Al Jawja districts.
If confirmed that the Houthis took control of both districts (where the National Resistance Forces were deployed), the group would have established full control over Al Hudayda province, according to the Anadolu correspondent.
These events occur amidst the largest military escalation in Yemen since 2022, when a UN-sponsored truce began before the peace process stalled and armed confrontations resumed in July.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since the Houthis took the capital, Sana'a, and several provinces in September 2014, which prompted the intervention of an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
