Yemen / Anadolu

On Sunday evening, the pro-government 'National Resistance' forces announced they had foiled an attempt by armed boats belonging to the Houthi group to approach Zaqar Island in the Red Sea, west of the country.

This came in a statement by the military media of the forces led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh, published by the '2 December' agency, which speaks on its behalf.

The statement said: 'The naval force of the National Resistance foiled today (Sunday) an attempt by armed boats belonging to the terrorist Houthi militia to approach Zaqar Island from the direction of the international shipping lane in the Red Sea.'

It added that the naval forces of the National Resistance 'dealt firmly and forcefully with the Houthi boats as soon as they were spotted, forcing them to flee and retreat toward the al-Faza area, northward.'

The statement stressed 'the readiness of the National Resistance navy to secure the shipping lane and protect the liberated islands from any Houthi threats.'

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the matter, while local media considered the incident an attempt by the group to seize the island.

Zaqar Island lies between the coasts of Yemen and Eritrea, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

On Sunday, clashes renewed between pro-government Yemeni forces and the Houthi group in the strategic Hodeidah governorate (west), according to a statement by the military media of the National Resistance forces.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on these confrontations.

On July 5, the Yemeni government announced the killing of 15 of its soldiers and 50 Houthi militants in violent clashes south of Hodeidah, the fiercest battles between the two sides since 2022.

These confrontations come amid ongoing escalation between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group, with sharp exchanged messages regarding the future of the crisis between the two sides.

While the Presidential Leadership Council stressed on Friday that 'it is time to decisively restore state institutions from the Houthi group,' the latter mobilized thousands of its supporters in demonstrations declaring mobilization, and threatened open options, announcing that readiness had been raised days ago.

On Monday, the spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, announced that 'air defenses dealt with a threat from ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region,' without giving further details.

This represents the first Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia since the start of the truce in Yemen in 2022, according to Anadolu Agency's monitoring.

The attack came hours after the Yemeni Defense Ministry announced targeting the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthi group considered this development to mean 'the end of de-escalation' in place in the country for years, and warned that the targeting 'would not pass without response and punishment.'

The Yemeni authorities had previously condemned, on July 3, 2026, Iran sending a plane belonging to Mahan Air to Sanaa, saying the aim was to transfer a Houthi delegation from Sanaa to Tehran.

This is the first announced Iranian flight to Sanaa airport in about 10 years, according to Yemeni media.