Yemen’s armed forces said air and ground strikes carried out with support from the Coalition to Support Legitimacy had topped 17,000 since the launch of Operation Dawn of Yemen, as government forces repelled fierce Houthi attacks in Taiz and Lahj.
More than 1,250 strikes were carried out in the past 24 hours, neutralizing about 700 Houthi fighters and destroying or disabling more than 150 vehicles and pieces of military equipment, the armed forces said.
The heaviest fighting centered on western Taiz, where government forces said they repelled a Houthi assault that lasted about 12 hours, along with attacks in Al-Dhabab, Al-Aqrud and Al-Shaqab. Clashes also erupted on the Al-Mudaraba and Al-Wazi’iya fronts in Lahj province.
Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesman for Yemen’s armed forces, said operations over the past day targeted positions, fortifications, trenches, firing points, observation and reconnaissance posts, forward command-and-control centers, and Houthi assembly and supply areas.
He said the strikes were aimed at weakening the group’s defensive lines and limiting its ability to launch attacks, with a particular focus on the Taiz fronts.
Heavy fighting broke out west of Taiz city after a large-scale Houthi attack around Jabal Han that lasted about 12 hours, according to field accounts from government forces.
The forces said they repelled the assault and forced the attackers to withdraw from positions they had tried to seize.
Clashes spread to the old airport area, Ghurab and Bir Basha, with heavy and medium weapons, artillery and rockets used in the fighting. Confrontations also continued around the Republican Palace east of the city, amid reports of Houthi shelling of residential neighborhoods in the old airport area.
Government forces said they held their positions at Jabal Han and recaptured sites infiltrated by the attackers.
In southern Taiz province, government forces repelled Houthi attacks on the Al-Aqrud and Al-Shaqab fronts, while airstrikes hit a convoy of tanks and military vehicles in the Ras al-Najd area of Al-Misrakh district.
Other strikes targeted Houthi positions on Sofitel Hill east of Taiz city, as well as a tank and a military vehicle on the Al-Dhabab front to the west.
Government forces said the clashes and airstrikes killed or wounded dozens of Houthis. No independent casualty figures were available.
Reinforcements and attrition in Lahj
In western Lahj province, along the border with Taiz, the Southern Giants Brigades, led by Presidential Leadership Council member Abdulrahman al-Muharrami, sent reinforcements from the 6th Infantry Division and support units to the Al-Mudaraba front.
The deployment was aimed at reinforcing forces in the area and countering Houthi infiltration attempts.
The Giants Brigades said they destroyed Houthi military vehicles and equipment while repelling infiltration attempts.
Their media outlets also said the last company of the group’s 11th Reserve Brigade had been eliminated, describing it as part of the losses suffered by Houthi formations during the fighting.
The moves came as fighting continued on the Al-Wazi’iya front west of Taiz, where government forces are seeking to thwart attacks and prevent the Houthis from making gains toward areas bordering Lahj province.
The forces are also seeking to prevent the Houthis from outflanking government troops at Bab al-Mandab in an effort to break the siege of Houthi pockets.
Alongside the ground fighting, local authorities in Marib said the Houthis fired nine ballistic missiles and seven other projectiles at residential neighborhoods in the city on Thursday evening.
The authorities warned against continued attacks on populated areas and called on the international community and the United Nations to act to halt them.
In Aden, the death toll from a missile attack targeting the presidential Maashiq Palace and the Al-Buraiqa area west of the city rose to five, with 16 wounded, according to Public Health and Population Minister Qasem Buhaibeh.
He said the casualties included security personnel and civilian employees.
Operation continues
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi reviewed developments in Operation Dawn of Yemen and fighting across the various fronts during briefings from senior military and local officials.
The briefings were delivered by Defense Minister Lieutenant General Taher al-Aqili, Chief of the General Staff and Commander of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Sagheer bin Aziz, Commander of the Fourth Military Region Major General Hamdi Shukri, and the governors of Taiz and Lahj.
According to the briefings, the armed forces, with support from the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, had carried out more than 17,000 air and ground strikes since the operation began, targeting Houthi positions, concentrations and military capabilities across multiple fronts.
Al-Alimi praised the performance of the armed forces, military formations and popular resistance forces, and commended Saudi Arabia’s support and the role of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in backing the Yemeni state and its armed forces.
He said the operation would continue in line with its stated objectives of restoring state institutions and extending state authority across all Yemeni territory, ultimately reaching the capital, Sanaa.
The briefings also covered humanitarian and public service conditions in Taiz and Lahj, including measures to respond to waves of displacement and secure basic services and supply routes amid the military escalation.
Al-Alimi accused the Houthis of imposing coercive measures in areas they had infiltrated in Taiz province, including forced recruitment, ideological mobilization and attempts to alter the identity of educational and community institutions.
He warned of the consequences of such practices and said the state was responsible for protecting citizens and holding those involved in violations accountable.
