Yemen's Houthi group has deployed forces to the strategic Hanish Islands in the Red Sea following the withdrawal of government naval troops there, a Yemeni government official said Thursday.
"The naval forces withdrew (on Thursday afternoon), and the Houthis moved in," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that Houthi forces had begun establishing positions on the islands.
The deployment significantly expands the Houthis' military presence in the southern Red Sea, bringing their forces closer to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Located north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and near major international shipping lanes, the Hanish archipelago holds strategic value for monitoring and securing maritime traffic.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis seized Yemen's Red Sea port city of Mocha after fierce fighting forced government troops to retreat south toward Dhubab, between Mocha and Bab al-Mandab. Mocha lies about 70 km north of the strait's narrowest point.
The latest advances mark a major battlefield shift along Yemen's western coast amid one of the sharpest escalations since a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi group's spokesperson, said Thursday in a statement posted on social media platform X that freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab remained "safe and regular," insisting that the group's operations posed "no threat" to international shipping.
Abdul-Salam said the group's ongoing military operations had specific targets and were "defensive" in nature, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, the group said Thursday in a statement that over the past 24 hours, the Saudi air force deployed fighter jets to launch 64 airstrikes across multiple Yemeni provinces. In Taiz Province, the Houthis used surface-to-air missiles to strike a formation of Saudi fighter jets, forcing them to withdraw. The Saudi side has not responded to the claim.
Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
Yemen's Houthis deploy forces to strategic Hanish Islands in Red Sea: official
As the lingering U.S.-Iran conflict over the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global oil and gas supply, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum's energy ministers met in Beijing Thursday to chart a way forward, on whether the region can turn the crisis into opportunities.
The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz since late February 2026 has caused the largest oil supply shock on record, with ongoing daily shortfalls in the multi-million-barrel range. This energy supply shock has exposed the structural vulnerabilities of the Asia-Pacific region, the world's largest energy-consuming area.
As the APEC host this year, China has taken an open and inclusive approach, creating a multilateral dialogue platform. At the current energy ministerial meeting, it is pushing for a full exchange of practical experience among economies and channeling shared wisdom into real cooperative results.
"Since the beginning of this year, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted. China has fully leveraged its energy production, supply and marketing system, actively strengthened cooperation with all other parties, and made important contributions to safeguarding global energy security," said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang in addressing the meeting.
The APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting, returning to Beijing after a 12-year hiatus, took place at a critical juncture following this "stress test."
"From our end in Papua New Guinea, we face the impacts of the war in Iran. We are an import-based economy. It did affect us in a great way," said Conrad Kumul, a delegate from Papua New Guinea, on the sidelines of the meeting.
Yet, many see that crises can also serve as catalysts for energy transition.
"The idea now is to push very much forward with the energy transition, even more than before. Now actually, the oil prices are so high that the comparatively renewable energies are very low in price," said Steivan Defilla, president assistant of the APEC Sustainable Energy Center, a high-level international energy think tank led by China's National Energy Administration.
China will hold the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, in November, which marks the country's third time hosting the event following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014.
APEC ministers explore new pathways for energy security amid Hormuz crisis
