Yemen’s Houthi rebels captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, Yemeni government and Houthi officials said on Monday (September 14, 2026), strengthening their control of a major maritime shipping route .
The capture of the islands came after the rebels last week seized the port city of Mokha and the island of Mayun, located inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. The rebels deployed fighters on the islands of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Bab el-Mandeb Strait , according to two government officials and a Houthi official. The conflict in Yemen intensified on Sunday (September 13), as government forces launched attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea and Houthis fired into neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s government.
Because they were not authorized to talk to journalists, the Houthis took over the islands after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni government vowed to send more forces to the Red Sea coast and one official conceded a “painful” defeat when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
