Houthi spokesman says forces repelled coalition advances near Bab el-Mandeb

The claim follows Yemeni government forces retaking Mocha and pushing toward the strait

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Houthi forces repelled multiple Saudi-led coalition advances toward Bab el-Mandeb, forcing them to retreat with no territorial gains. He said Houthi forces targeted coalition formations with ten ballistic missiles, destroyed a large number of vehicles, and left dozens killed or wounded. Neither the Saudi-led coalition nor the Yemeni government has confirmed or denied the claim.

The statement comes a day after Yemeni government forces retook the port city of Mocha from Houthi control and pushed toward Bab el-Mandeb, backed by Saudi-led coalition air and naval power, alongside a separate government offensive on Sanaa. That reversal had followed weeks in which government forces claimed gains around the strait while coalition jets struck Houthi positions, and after the coalition agreed to give air support to government forces following ground gains near Dhubab and a string of intercepted Houthi strikes on Saudi territory.

Saree also claimed on Tuesday that Houthi forces struck a Saudi military camp in Jizan with ballistic missiles, a claim Saudi officials have not confirmed.

If Saree's account of repelled advances and a ten-missile strike is accurate, it would be the first Houthi counter-narrative to the Mocha setback, suggesting the government push toward Bab el-Mandeb is meeting stiffer resistance than that reversal implied. That would delay any unwinding of the shipping and energy risk premium built up since early September. No damage to Saudi export or pipeline infrastructure has been confirmed, keeping the episode within a pattern of claims and counter-claims that oil markets have so far largely shrugged off.