Operation Dawn of Yemen has entered its second month, backed by presidential assurances that offensives will persist until state institutions are fully restored.
Meanwhile, a Houthi ballistic missile strike caused multiple deaths and injuries in Taiz, drawing immediate condemnation from the Yemeni government, which labeled the attack a "war crime."
The broader military confrontation has shifted into a volatile new phase of escalation as heavy fighting expands between government forces and the Houthis across the Taiz, Lahj, Marib, and Al-Jawf governorates. The widening conflict has heightened international concern for civilian safety and the security of vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Chairman of Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi stressed in a council statement on Thursday that military operations will continue until their declared objectives are achieved, chief among them ending the Houthi coup, restoring state institutions, and extending state authority over the entirety of Yemeni territory.
The council said that since October 5, the armed forces have conducted more than 40,000 military targeting operations across various fronts. According to its tally, these operations resulted in neutralizing around 20,000 of the Houthi leaders and members, as well as destroying and disabling more than 5,000 military vehicles and pieces of equipment.
These figures reflect the vast scale of military operations conducted during the first month, while fighting continues across multiple axes, it added.
Several battles
On the ground, government forces recaptured key military positions in the Al-Sarari area and the Sanamat area of Al-Misrakh district in southwest Taiz governorate.
The field advances were achieved during offensive operations launched with the support of the Popular Resistance. The ground maneuvers coincided with a series of airstrikes and drone strikes targeting Houthi positions, troop gatherings, and combat vehicles.
Local sources said warplanes carried out a wave of airstrikes at dawn on Friday, hitting Houthi concentrations, fortifications, and hardware across the Hayfan district and the vicinity of Al-Turbah city. An official casualty and equipment damage toll from the aerial strikes has not yet been disclosed.
Numerous areas across Lahj governorate witnessed fierce fighting, which were concentrated on the frontlines of the Al-Zuraiqah region.
Military sources revealed that the Houthis executed a flanking attack targeting five positions, before defending forces, supported by the resistance, managed to recapture two of them.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in the Al-Madaribah district and the Kahboub mountains overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The fighting in Al-Zuraiqah resulted in the killing of 11 personnel from the joint forces and the injury of 23 others, according to an initial field toll. Casualty figures among the Houthis remained unknown, while fighting continued along with the arrival of military reinforcements from both sides.
The escalation expanded to the Marib and Al-Jawf governorates, where government forces announced advances across the Al-Dahidha heights and the Huwayshan mountains in eastern Al-Jawf.
Troops seized control of several positions, fortifications, and weapons during operations aimed at clearing the route toward the city of Al-Hazm.
Another massacre in Al-Waziyah
On the west coast, the Yemeni government's announcement that the Houthis used a United Nations building in the Al-Mokha district as a military operations center and a missile launchpad has triggered fresh concerns regarding the safety of humanitarian facilities and UN personnel.
The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation warned that the group is exploiting the legal immunity of UN headquarters to cover its military activities, demanding that the UN investigate these accusations and work to evacuate gunmen and weapons from the building. The allegations could not be independently verified.
In another development, several people were killed and injured following an attack targeting the Al-Hadara popular market in the Al-Waziyah district in western Taiz, on Friday.
The health ministry of the unrecognized Houthi administration reported that at least 20 people were killed and 15 others wounded, while local authorities in Taiz blamed the militia for the attack.
Officials denied the incident was the result of coalition airstrikes, citing operations room reports confirming no military flights took place in the Al-Waziyah district that day.
Yemeni military spokesperson Majid Al-Nuzaili said the Houthis targeted the market with a ballistic missile, resulting in dozens of casualties.
He described the assault as a war crime reflecting the militia’s targeting of civilians following field losses or failed missile launches.
