Houthis seize Red Sea islands, tighten shipping grip — SkimNews
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- Houthi rebels captured Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish islands, located 160 km north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, on Monday September 14, 2026, after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago.
- Yemeni government forces attacked Houthis along the Red Sea on Sunday September 13, while Houthis fired into Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's internationally recognized government.
- The Yemeni government vowed to deploy more forces to the Red Sea coast, with one official conceding a "painful" defeat after the loss of Mokha port city and Mayun island inside the Bab el-Mandeb.
- Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure and Red Sea shipping add pressure on global oil supplies and prices — a dynamic the source explicitly ties to Iran's leverage in its confrontation with the United States.
- The United Nations estimated that more than 80,000 people in Yemen have been displaced by fighting since the start of September, as the country risks sliding back into civil war.
Why it matters: The Houthis now hold islands on both sides of the Bab el-Mandeb strait — a maritime chokepoint and stated alternative to the Strait of Hormuz — giving them the ability to directly disrupt a significant share of global oil flows. For Saudi Arabia, attacks on its oil infrastructure are an immediate economic threat, while Iran gains a strategic lever against the United States at a moment of heightened US-Iran tension.
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