Forces

Swedish and German forces are conducting what appears to be the first joint rehearsal of their rapid-reinforcement plans for the Baltic island of Gotland. The exercise is another step in Sweden’s defense planning for an island whose position in the middle of the Baltic gives it an outsized strategic importance for controlling access, protecting the Baltic states, and maintaining NATO’s freedom of movement in a region where Russian military activity remains a persistent concern.

The exercise, Silver Wotan 2026, running between September 14-23, brings together Swedish and German forces across the land, maritime, and air domains. The scenario is built around a Swedish request for allied assistance, with German forces moving personnel and equipment across the Baltic before integrating with Swedish units already defending the island. The operation is testing the entire process of getting allied combat power to Gotland, protecting it during the movement to Visby, and rapidly incorporating it into the island’s existing defensive network.

A video shows troops coming ashore on Swedish CB90 fast assault craft, a type that German soldiers are also trained to operate:

The strategic importance of Gotland has grown considerably following Sweden’s accession to NATO in March 2024, which was a direct response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Located approximately halfway between mainland Sweden and the Baltic states, the island occupies a central position in the Baltic Sea, close to the maritime approaches to the Gulf of Finland and within reach of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Its location gives forces operating from Gotland a potentially significant position from which to conduct surveillance, air defense, and maritime operations, while also making the island an important part of the wider network connecting NATO’s northern and eastern members.

At the same time, Gotland sits within an extremely complex littoral environment, where shallow waters, islands, narrow maritime approaches, and the proximity of multiple states can make both offensive operations and defensive planning more difficult. The region has also been shaped by longstanding Swedish concerns about Russian clandestine activity, including intelligence gathering and other forms of covert or deniable activity. The complexity of the Baltic operating environment can make such activities harder to detect and attribute, adding another layer of uncertainty alongside the more conventional military challenges facing the region.

Geography has long made Gotland important to Swedish defense planning, but its significance has taken on a broader dimension since Sweden joined the alliance. NATO has described the island as strategically important to its freedom of maneuver in the Baltic, while Swedish officials have highlighted its potential role as a hub for military operations and logistics in the region.

The current exercise is designed around the practical difficulties of reinforcing such a position.

Military equipment is being transported by sea to Visby, Gotland’s principal port, including by commercial ferry. In Visby, Swedish and German personnel are securing the harbor and conducting the reception of the arriving force. Among the equipment being moved are air defense systems, while Swedish forces are also operating coastal defense systems armed with anti-ship missiles.

Meanwhile, publicly available flight-tracking data showed German Luftwaffe transport aircraft, including at least one Airbus A400M airlifter, apparently involved in the effort. The commercial airport at Visby has long also been used for military activities related to Gotland and the wider Baltic region.

The movement is supported by Swedish and German naval forces and other aircraft, creating a scenario in which the maritime transit, protection of the port, air operations, and subsequent movement of troops and equipment ashore all form part of the same military problem. Once ashore, the arriving forces have to be moved into position and integrated with Swedish units already responsible for defending the island.

The Swedish Gotland Regiment, P 18, provides the core of the island’s permanent military presence. The regiment, Sweden’s youngest and smallest, has been rebuilding its capabilities since Sweden began expanding its military presence on Gotland. Its forces form the basis of the ground-defense structure into which allied reinforcements would be incorporated.

Swedish coastal defense capabilities are another important element of the drill. Land-based anti-ship missiles provide the island with a means of threatening hostile surface vessels operating in the surrounding waters, giving the defense of Gotland a direct connection to the wider maritime battle for the Baltic. During Silver Wotan, Swedish and German forces are also conducting anti-surface warfare activities alongside the broader reinforcement operation.

Germany is contributing more than 500 troops to the exercise, part of approximately 2,000 Bundeswehr personnel involved, including elements from the army, navy, and air force. The German Luftwaffe has deployed Panavia Tornado aircraft for surveillance, while German naval forces are participating in the maritime component, and German ground personnel are involved in the reinforcement and security activities on Gotland.

The exercise scenario is particularly relevant against the backdrop of Russia’s continuing military presence in the Baltic region.

Russia maintains major military infrastructure in Kaliningrad, including naval, air, missile, and air defense capabilities, while the Russian Baltic Fleet operates from bases in the region. Kaliningrad’s position between Poland and Lithuania gives Moscow a significant military foothold inside the NATO area, while Russian forces and military infrastructure elsewhere along the Baltic add to the complexity of operating and reinforcing allied territory in the region.

The security environment around the Baltic has also deteriorated considerably since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO has increased its surveillance and military activity in the region, including the launch of Baltic Sentry in January 2025 following a series of incidents involving critical undersea infrastructure. The alliance has subsequently expanded efforts to monitor maritime activity and protect infrastructure and sea lines of communication.

Swedish authorities have stressed that Silver Wotan was planned in advance and is not being conducted in response to a specific imminent Russian threat. The exercise nonetheless reflects the operational environment in which Swedish and NATO planners now have to consider the possibility that maritime and air movements across the Baltic could be monitored, disrupted, or contested.

The exercise also builds on a series of increasingly large Swedish-led activities designed to test the reception of allied forces on Swedish territory. During Aurora 26 earlier this year, more than 18,000 troops from 13 countries participated in operations across Sweden, including the deployment of allied forces to Gotland alongside the Gotland Regiment and Swedish Home Guard. NATO described that activity as an emergency deployment intended to test the reinforcement of the island.

Silver Wotan places a more concentrated emphasis on the Swedish-German relationship and on the movement of an allied force into the island’s existing defensive structure.

Germany’s participation is also consistent with its growing military role in the Baltic and along NATO’s northeastern flank. Berlin is already providing forces for NATO’s forward defense in Lithuania and has increasingly emphasized the ability to move German forces rapidly across northern Europe in support of allied operations.

For Sweden, meanwhile, Gotland has become one of the clearest examples of how NATO membership has changed the country’s defense planning. The island remains a Swedish responsibility, but its location means that what happens there has consequences well beyond Sweden’s territorial defense.

A defended and adequately supplied Gotland provides NATO with a strategically positioned base for surveillance and defensive operations in the Baltic, while the ability to reinforce it demonstrates that the alliance can maintain access to the island even as the surrounding maritime and air environment becomes more contested.

The exercise comes as European allies are being forced to plan for a NATO in which the United States may provide less of the conventional military weight it has supplied for decades. The Pentagon is reviewing the size and posture of U.S. forces in Europe, including the forces and capabilities Washington would make available in a European crisis, while NATO’s top commander has said further U.S. troop withdrawals should be expected as European allies build up their own conventional capabilities.

At the same time, the alliance now describes Russia as its most significant and direct security threat, citing military activity alongside airspace violations, sabotage, cyber operations, and other forms of hybrid pressure. There are also growing concerns that Russia could try something in the Baltics, while it continues to step up its gray-zone activities regardless. NATO officials have warned that Russia could rebuild enough military capacity to pose a more serious conventional challenge to the alliance before the end of the decade.

There are escalating warnings from Poland that Russia is preparing to widen its war against Ukraine, with “accidental” missile and drone strikes on NATO territory.

Such a move – Russia falsely claiming air strikes that hit NATO allies happened by accident – would be designed to…

— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) September 18, 2026

For Sweden and Germany, the Silver Wotan exercise is a practical test of how quickly European forces can reinforce and defend one of the Baltic’s most strategically important positions. As the security environment grows more contested and Europe prepares for a future in which U.S. forces may not be as readily available, the ability to move allied combat power across the region and integrate it into existing defenses is becoming an increasingly important part of NATO’s deterrence.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

JEDDAH: Around 150 senior business leaders, investors and policymakers will gather in Riyadh on Sept. 29 to examine the forces expected to shape Saudi Arabia and wider MENAT economies over the next five years.

Forum to examine five-year economic outlook

The inaugural Economic Forum by Servcorp, powered by Emerging Markets Intelligence & Research, or EMIR, will examine the broader forces shaping the Kingdom and the wider Middle East, North Africa, and Turkiye, or MENAT, according to a press release.

As Saudi Arabia continues to advance its Vision 2030 agenda, the forum will use the Kingdom as its base while adopting a broader MENAT perspective.

Its five-year outlook will focus on the longer-term forces shaping business and policy decisions, drawing on Servcorp’s regional experience and EMIR’s economic intelligence to connect global developments with the practical realities of operating across MENAT.

Leaders to discuss regional growth and business priorities

“After more than 25 years supporting businesses in the region, we know that ambition creates value only when it is translated into execution,” CEO, Middle East, Europe, and America at Servcorp, David Godchaux, said.

Godchaux added that leaders must decide where to commit, which capabilities to build and which priorities to defer, yet the context for making those decisions is becoming more complex.

He added that the Economic Forum by Servcorp would provide a setting for candid, peer-level discussions on the decisions that will shape the region’s next phase of growth.

“The Economic Forum by Servcorp will provide a setting for candid, peer-level discussions on the decisions that will shape the region’s next phase of growth,” he said.

Yemeni government forces have advanced in western Taiz after successfully repelling a Houthi offensive.

Armed forces affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognised government have retaken positions from the Houthis and are advancing in the southwestern Taiz province as clashes intensify.

Reporting from Taiz on Monday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Yasser Hassan said forces loyal to the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government advanced in western Taiz on Sunday after successfully repelling a Houthi offensive.

“This comes with the support of air strikes targeting Houthi gatherings. The air force continues to bomb the Houthis. On the west coast in Mocha, Dhubab, and their surroundings,” Hassan said, citing a source in government forces.

In a statement on Monday, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), said they launched attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.

The group said the attacks targeted “military facilities and infrastructure, including aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways, ammunition depots and other targets at King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait”, Saudi Arabia.

It said the attacks were a response to a Saudi offensive, which involved more than 300 air strikes across Yemen over five days.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the Houthi claims.

On Sunday, the Saudi civil defence agency sent alerts for the city of Abha and the region around Khamis Mushait, but they were quickly lifted shortly afterwards.

Fighting in Yemen’s more than 10-year civil war reignited in July, threatening a United Nations-brokered truce that halted large-scale violence in 2022, after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

The fighting soon spilled over beyond the country’s borders, with the Houthis carrying out air attacks on southern Saudi Arabia, including oil facilities. Dozens of people were wounded in those attacks.

Clashes in Yemen intensified last week after the Houthis captured parts of the country’s Red Sea coast, fortifying their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key waterway which handles about 12 percent of global trade, including 11 percent of maritime oil and 8 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The waterway has been an economic lifeline for Saudi Arabia and its oil exports, as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked by Iranian forces since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.

The Houthis captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, The Associated Press news agency reported on Monday, citing Yemeni government and Houthi officials.

Houthi fighters were deployed on the islands of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish about 86 nautical miles (160km) north of the Bab al-Mandeb, according to two government officials and a Houthi official, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday the fighting in Yemen in recent weeks had displaced nearly 86,000 people.

It added that some of those displaced by the conflict were fleeing Yemen altogether, with more than 2,000 people reaching neighbouring country Djibouti.

DUBAI: Fighting in Yemen intensified on Sunday as government forces claimed fresh gains against the Houthis in Taiz, state news agency Saba reported.

Yemeni government forces recaptured positions overlooking the Jardad area in western Taiz and advanced toward Gail Bani Omar, the agency reported citing a military source.

The source said government forces seized military equipment and inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis.

Government aircraft also carried out strikes on Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles in several parts of Taiz, including Dhubab, Al-Wazaiya and Haifan, according to the source.

An airstrike on a Houthi gathering in the Afira area of Jabal Habshi district destroyed several military vehicles and detonated a stockpile of medium-weapons ammunition, killing at least 10 Houthi fighters, the source said.

The latest fighting comes amid a wider escalation across Yemen, with government forces also conducting operations in Marib, Jouf, Al-Bayda and Al-Dhalea, according to the Yemeni presidency.

President Rashad Al-Alimi has held talks with members of the Presidential Leadership Council, the prime minister, military commanders and provincial officials to assess developments on the various fronts.

He said individual changes along the front lines would not alter the government’s objective of restoring state control across Yemen.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

The escalation has also extended beyond Yemen’s borders, with the Houthis continuing attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued emergency alerts early on Monday covering Khamis Mushait, Abha, Jazan and Najran in the southwest of the Kingdom before announcing that the danger had passed.

Civilian toll rises

The fighting has also triggered a major new displacement crisis inside Yemen.

Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights said on Sunday that 150 civilians had been killed and more than 200 wounded since Sept. 3 in fighting and attacks in Taiz, Hodeidah and Marib.

The ministry said about 85,000 people had been displaced during the same period, while citing International Organization for Migration data showing that around 2,000 people had arrived in Djibouti as a result of the escalation.

The ministry accused the Houthis of launching ballistic missiles, drones and other weapons on populated areas, displacement camps and civilian convoys.

It also reported attacks on civilian and medical facilities, kidnappings, arbitrary detention, looting and alleged field executions.

The ministry called on the international community, the UN and human rights bodies to protect civilians and displaced people, investigate alleged violations and ensure humanitarian access.

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s government forces are better prepared, more experienced and better armed to defend the central city of Marib against any renewed Houthi offensive, a senior military official said, amid reports that the Iran-backed group is massing forces around the province.

Brig. Yahya Al-Hatemi, director of the Yemeni army’s military media, told Arab News that government forces had gained significant battlefield experience during more than a decade of fighting and were ready to repel any attempt by the Houthis to advance on Marib.

“The armed forces have generally become more organized, powerful and effective,” Al-Hatemi said.

“Over the past decade, they have gained combat experience that enabled them to overcome adversity, master military tactics and identify the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Marib has become one of the most strategically important government-held areas in Yemen since the war escalated in 2015.

It is home to more than 2 million displaced people, major army bases, oil and gas fields and a key power station. The Houthis have repeatedly attempted to seize the city, but previous offensives have failed.

Over the weekend, Yemeni media reported that the Houthis had sent large numbers of fighters and military equipment to areas of Marib province under their control, raising fears of preparations for another offensive.

The reported buildup followed major Houthi gains along Yemen’s western coast, including the seizure of the Red Sea port city of Mokha and advances toward the Bab Al-Mandab area.

Al-Hatemi said the army was aware that Marib could become the Houthis’ next major target.

“We know that the new pressure will be directed at Marib,” he said.

“However, Marib has significant military strength and divine protection. Moreover, the Houthis lack a popular support base there. Quite the opposite: The local environment is hostile to them.”

The Houthis launched a major offensive to capture Marib in early 2021, with fighting continuing into early 2022 and leaving hundreds of civilians and combatants dead or wounded.

The campaign largely subsided following the UN-brokered truce in April 2022, although the Houthis continued launching missile and drone attacks and mobilizing forces around government-held parts of the province.

Military commanders say the situation is different today.

Government forces are operating under a more unified command and have accumulated years of experience fighting the Houthis across multiple fronts.

For the first time in more than a decade, Yemen’s military has also reactivated its air force, which has recently carried out strikes against Houthi positions.

“The armed forces were supplied with military equipment they had previously lacked, while the army and navy were restructured,” Al-Hatemi said.

“In addition, the air force, which had been absent for 11 years, was reactivated.”

Presidential Leadership Council member and Marib Gov. Sultan Al-Aradah expressed similar confidence, saying government forces were capable not only of defending the province but eventually of taking the initiative and launching a broader campaign against Houthi-held territory.

“There is no doubt that Marib is part of the broader battlefields across the country,” Al-Aradah told Saba TV.

“From the beginning, the Marib front has focused solely on victory, supporting the people and supporting all fronts across Yemen. The objective of the forces in Marib and elsewhere is to restore the capital, Sanaa.”

Al-Aradah urged families in Houthi-controlled areas not to send their children to fight alongside the group.

“I hope they do not send their misled children into death traps … horrific slaughterhouses that make one shudder with shame,” he said.

“It is deeply regrettable to witness, right before our eyes, these scenes where hundreds, even thousands, of misled individuals are sent off — unaware of where they are going or whom they are fighting.”

Al-Aradah accused the Houthis of reigniting the war through their latest military escalation and blamed Iran for encouraging the group to reject peace efforts.

He also praised Saudi Arabia for its support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

“Our Arab brothers, foremost among them Saudi Arabia, provide great support to the Yemeni people in all fields,” he said.

“They stand by Yemen’s constitutional legitimacy and support the Yemeni people in addressing their economic and humanitarian hardships. They also stand by us in our efforts to achieve stability and prosperity under a legitimate state.”

The renewed attention on Marib comes as the battlefield has widened following Houthi advances in western Yemen.

The militia’s gains around Mokha and Bab Al-Mandab have increased pressure on government forces and raised questions over where the Houthis will seek to concentrate their next major offensive.

For government commanders, however, the stated objective now extends beyond simply defending Marib.

“The priority now is to restore the Yemeni state and rid Yemen of terrorist organizations, foremost among them the Houthis, regardless of their form or nature,” Al-Aradah said.

“This is an irreversible commitment tied to the will of the people. There will be no turning back until the state is restored, whatever it takes.”

The US military has forced 99 commercial vessels to change course in the Gulf region as it enforces its blockade of Iranian ports, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday in a social media post.

Earlier the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that foreign ministers from Gulf littoral states are scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to exchange views on regional issues, including talks between Iran and Oman on designating safe routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

He said the meeting will be attended by Iran, Iraq and other Gulf littoral states, adding that he hoped it would prepare the ground for improving understanding among regional countries and contributing to joint regional security.

A day earlier, the US-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in a notice that maritime security conditions in the Middle East remained tense, with the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz still rated as “severe.”

The notice also warned of a high likelihood of attacks on vessels amid the current security situation.

NEW YORK CITY: A five-member international bloc known as the “Quintet” on Thursday rejected the prospect of any “parallel governing structures” in Sudan.

As its representatives wrapped up a “Good Offices” mission to Khartoum, they reaffirmed the need for full respect for the country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

The rebuke, a reference to a rival administration the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seeks to establish amid its conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces, came after the Quintet — the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Arab League, the EU and the UN — held talks with Sudanese leaders in an effort to revive a Sudanese-led political process to end the civil war, which began in April 2023.

The delegates met the chair and deputy chair of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, the prime minister, and the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. They also attended a working dinner hosted by the finance minister that drew a number of political and civilian figures.

Beyond government officials, the Quintet said its representatives met a range of political and civilian groups, including the Democratic Bloc, and heard from a committee tasked with fostering the conditions for a nationwide “Sudanese Dialogue,” which briefed the delegates on its work. A meeting with independent women’s and youth groups concluded the Quintet’s mission.

The bloc described the visit as being “in the spirit of listening to the stakeholders on the ground,” with the aim of linking its diplomatic engagement outside of Sudan with initiatives emerging within the country.

“There is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan,” the Quintet said, adding that any durable political process must be paired with concrete steps to protect civilians and end hostilities.

The bloc said it remained convinced that a “credible and inclusive Sudanese led and Sudanese owned” political track can still deliver a transition to a democratic, civilian-led government that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Sanaa, Yemen – The United Nations-recognised Yemeni government and the Houthi group have been using warplanes, missiles, drones and other weapons as they engage in intense fighting on multiple fronts in the country’s north, west and central regions.

At least 194 people have been killed and 880 others wounded in the past two weeks of fighting in parts of Taiz, the western coast, al-Jawf, Marib and Dhalea, according to aid agencies.

Iran-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), have intensified attacks on the coastal district of al-Makha (Mocha) located on the western coast, among others, to gain a foothold in the Red Sea – a vital shipping lane.

On the other hand, government forces have been battling to expand in Taiz and boost their control of Marib, an oil-producing region in the north.

Fighting has also been raging in the al-Jawf governorate bordering Saudi Arabia and Dhalea, which connects the Houthi-controlled north to the country’s south under the internationally recognised government.

Experts say gains or losses on any of these strategically important fronts could have significant consequences for either side.

Taiz and western coast fronts

“The hills and mountainous areas of Taiz and the western coast are key targets for the Houthis, who have repeatedly attempted to advance there,” Yazeed al-Jeddawy, the research manager at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, said.

“The Houthis are trying to seize commanding terrains, cut supply routes between the coastal Mocha district and Taiz, and prevent government troops on the western coast from linking up with the Taiz Military Axis,” said al-Jeddawy.

In Taiz and along the western coast, al-Jeddawy says, the immediate contest is over the heights and roads connecting Taiz to al-Makha.

Situated roughly 60km (37 miles) from the Bab al-Mandeb strait, al-Makha enjoys a highly strategic position on the Red Sea. For a month now, the Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on the city, causing massive damage to its port facilities and killing and injuring several civilians.

Recently, the group has also attempted to extend its ground operations towards al-Makha city.

“The Houthis seem intent on tightening their hold around [al-Makha] and moving closer to the Dhubab–Bab al-Mandeb area. A substantial advance would strengthen their position near the southern entrance to the Red Sea and give them greater leverage over international shipping,” he added.

Fuad Mussed, a Yemeni political analyst and author, told Al Jazeera that the strategic importance of the western coast and Taiz fronts stems from their proximity to Bab al-Mandeb, a chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

“The Houthis seek to move closer to this vital waterway to threaten maritime traffic. Such a move aims to keep the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb under the influence of Iran and use them as leverage against regional and international powers. This is a strategy Tehran has been pursuing for years,” Mussed said.

Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil chokepoint, to use it as leverage in the war against the United States. It has also warned that its allies could shut shipping via Bab al-Mandeb. Iran also attacked Saudi Arabia’s pipeline used to export oil from the Red Sea.

In July, the Houthis declared a blockade against Saudi vessels transiting through the Red Sea – an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

Marib and al-Jawf fronts

Over the past few weeks, pro-government forces have attacked Houthi-held territories in Marib and al-Jawf, facing further retaliation from the Houthis.

Saddam al-Huraibi, a Yemeni political commentator, said the Marib front is fateful for both sides.

“Marib is a government stronghold in north Yemen. So, a Houthi expansion in Marib would threaten government presence and weaken its leverage in the north. That is why pro-government troops are ready to fight tooth and nail on this front line,” al-Huraibi told Al Jazeera.

For the Houthis, the takeover of Marib will deepen the group’s authority and step towards controlling the oil and gas infrastructure. The Iran-backed group captured vast swaths of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, but Marib has remained in government hands since.

“Dominating Marib’s oil and gas resources has been a Houthi goal for over a decade. Without facing a crushing defeat in Marib, they would keep fighting to achieve that goal,” al-Huraibi said.

Adjacent to Marib, al-Jawf is also a hub of tense fighting between the Houthis and government forces. A government gain there would lay the groundwork for further advances, while a strong Houthi defence could undermine government forces’ morale and prompt them to retreat.

“Government-aligned forces have lately focused much of their offensive effort on al-Jawf. Government gains in al-Jawf would ease the threat to Marib while requiring the Houthis to defend a much broader area,” al-Huraibi said.

Al-Jeddawy said government gains could open routes towards the north – Saada, Amran or Houthi positions north of Marib.

The Houthis have carried out attacks in Saudi Arabia, including energy facilities in the country’s south. They have also accused Saudi Arabia of launching multiple attacks in al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Marib and Taiz provinces in support of government forces.

The Dhalea front

Fighting on the Dhalea front, a strategic gateway between Houthi-held territory and the southern governorates, has intensified in recent weeks.

Fighting there did not fully stop during the relative calm, which began in April 2022 following the UN-brokered ceasefire.

A Houthi advance there could open a route for their fighters to reach other southern territories. On the other hand, a Houthi setback would encourage government forces to push towards Ibb, controlled by the group.

“[Houthi] advances in Dhalea could expose the southern hinterland, while [government advances] could threaten Houthi positions and supply routes towards Ibb, al-Bayda and, farther north, Sanaa,” al-Jeddawy noted.

With the escalating fighting, the Houthis face pressure on several fronts, but the group has been readying for a range of scenarios, Khaled Ghorab, a pro-Houthi general, said.

“The [Houthi] Yemeni armed forces were never caught off guard by the prospect of escalation; rather, they worked to build and develop their own military capabilities based on tactical combat plans designed to counter a comprehensive, sustained attack launched simultaneously from land, sea and air,” he said.

Ghorab noted that this state of readiness enables the Houthi forces to carry out a direct response to sources of the threat – whether deep within enemy territory or at sea – targeting military bases or aircraft carriers as far as the Horn of Africa.

While the warring parties compete to seize strategic positions on several front lines, the latest escalation is also closely related to the wider regional confrontation.

“Iran has an interest in keeping Yemen and the Red Sea active as sources of leverage, while parts of the government camp believe the Houthis are under growing strain and that this is an opportunity to weaken them,” al-Jeddawy, the Sanaa-based researcher, said.

“The escalation still reflects domestic military and political aims, but its timing and direction cannot be separated from the regional war,” he told Al Jazeera.

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a home on Tuesday that belonged to a Palestinian family in the nomadic hamlet of Khirbet Khalla Al-Dabaa, located in Masafer Yatta, south of the occupied West Bank.

Fourteen members of the Mohammad Ali Dabbaba family lost their home when Israeli authorities demolished their 200-sq.-meter residence, constructed from tin and stone, according to the Palestine News Agency.

Forces also filled a crucial water well for the Bedouin community, destroyed electricity networks, damaged several water tanks, and uprooted 15 trees. Additionally, Israeli forces demolished a residential cave belonging to Abdullah Dabbaba, which housed six people.

Israeli authorities have issued demolition notices for 14 inhabited caves and several homes in Khirbet Khalla Al-Dabaa, the report added.

Masafer Yatta consists of nearly 15 Palestinian hamlets located in the southern West Bank; Khirbet Khalla Al-Dabaa is one of them. Israeli forces and settlers regularly invade the area in an effort to evict its total population of 1,150 residents, half of whom are children. Since the 1980s, the area has been designated a military zone by Israel.

In late August, armed Israeli settlers detained a 22-year-old British activist in the village of Umm Al-Kheir in Masafer Yatta, who was part of a “protective presence” initiative intended to support Palestinian residents. He was deported from Israel last week.

Israeli forces have fired tear gas into a mosque in the occupied West Bank, leaving worshippers inside struggling to breathe, hours after settlers tried to set fire to a second mosque in the territory.

The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs condemned the continued pogroms on Tuesday, calling them a flagrant violation of the sanctity of places of worship.

Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showed worshippers at the mosque in Madama, near Nablus, coughing in the aftermath of the tear gas attack.

One elderly man was seen bent over as another tried to help him.

The ministry said Israeli forces “fired tear gas canisters” into the mosque as people gathered for their evening prayers. The attack “resulted in several elderly worshippers suffering from suffocation and caused widespread disruption to the congregation”, it added.

The attack in Madama came hours after Israeli settlers tried to set fire to another mosque in the nearby town of Bazariya.

Photos and videos from Nur al-Din Zanki Mosque showed blackened burn marks around a window of a room and Hebrew phrases sprayed on the exterior walls.

Majed Nasr, who lives near the mosque, said the attack took place early on Tuesday morning. “There was a small explosion that caused a fire inside the mosque building,” he told the AFP news agency. “We managed to contain the blaze before things could get worse and reach the main upper part of the building.”

The Religious Affairs Ministry condemned the “criminal attack” and said some 13 mosques have been “violated” by the Israeli military or settlers since the start of 2026.

Local sources told the Anadolu agency that the racist slogans sprayed at the site included threats against Palestinians and a message to the United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, saying: “Huckabee, greetings from the terrorists.”

Last month, Huckabee had described Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in the town of Qusra and other areas of the occupied West Bank as “terrorists”.

The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement following the Madama attack, warning of “the dangers of the continued and escalating religious war” waged by Israeli forces and settlers against religious sites in the occupied West Bank, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

The “systematic attacks … crossed all red lines and risked triggering a religious conflict with serious consequences for the region and the world”, it said.

Settlers also burned vehicles in the town of Beta, south of Nablus, and set fire to a Palestinian vehicle in Nahalin, west of Bethlehem, on Tuesday, according to media reports and footage posted online.

The attacks come amid a sharp increase in pogroms by Israeli forces and settlers across the occupied West Bank.

The United Nations said in August that at least 76 Palestinians have been killed in the territory this year and that some 3,800 people have been displaced by settler violence, as well as demolitions and evictions.

It also said settler violence had reached “unprecedented levels,” with more than 1,430 attacks resulting in casualties or property damage documented this year.

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces arrested at least 14 Palestinians, including five in Rummanah, one at the Anab checkpoint, one in Tammun, three in Hebron, two in Bethlehem and two in Nablus.

Israeli forces also uprooted olive trees near Jenin, demolished greenhouses and issued a demolition notice for a home in the town of Idhna.

Aug. 30 (UPI) — U.S. forces struck a pair of rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday in the first military action taken against Iran in weeks, military officials said.

The strikes on Larak Island were carried out to prevent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces from deploying new sea mines into the strait, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command said in a statement issued to media outlets.

The strike comes after two days after CENTCOM announced it had completed clearing sea mines from the main shipping lane in the strategic waterway.

Sunday’s military action represents the first publicly announced attack against Iranian forces since Aug. 1 when President Donald Trump began a pause in the hostilities after saying the “perimeters of a deal” to end the U.S. war against Tehran had been reached.

The Strait of Hormuz is a seen as a key factor in the conflict. Iran has been restricting maritime traffic at the chokepoint through the use of mines, missiles and military drones since the conflict began in February.

Despite Trump’s frequent assertions that the strait is open, only three vessels were transiting the waterway on Sunday — just 5% of the normal daily volume — while 383 vessels were waiting to pass through, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.

Iran and Oman reached a revenue-sharing arrangement and agreed to temporary shipping lane coordinates last week but the IRGC is maintaining its closure until the United States meets its conditions.

Trump earlier this month threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” with a deal to reopen the waterway. However, direct talks between Washington and Tehran talks expired on Aug. 17 with no deal reached and no new negotiations have been announced.

Somali authorities say 14 pirates were killed in the 10-day operation to free a Cameroon-flagged cargo vessel.

Turkish and Somali forces have freed a cargo ship held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state, according to authorities.

In a statement on X on Saturday, the Somali Ministry of Defence said that “14 pirates” died in the operation to free the Cameroon-flagged MV Latuf.

Four of their boats were also destroyed, it said.

The Defence Ministry said that “sustained pressure from the forces ultimately compelled the remaining pirates to abandon the vessel”, allowing the forces to take control of the ship.

The rescue operation was conducted under a defence cooperation agreement between Somalia and Turkiye, aimed at strengthening maritime security, protecting Somalia’s coastline and combating piracy, it said.

The Somali Defence Ministry did not provide details about any casualties or the wellbeing of the ship’s crew.

A local elder, Abdullahi Warsame, from the Jiifle community in the Godob Jiraan district of Puntland’s Nugal region, told The Associated Press news agency that the vessel and its crew had been freed.

The MV Latuf left the Turkish Port of Tekirdag in late July. It was hijacked on August 17 in waters off the coast of the Nugal region of Puntland, a semi-autonomous federal state in northeastern Somalia.

According to the Marine Traffic website, the cargo ship has continued its voyage to its reported destination in Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.

Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011, before being curbed by international naval deployments and new protection measures for commercial shipping.

But attacks have surged since April, with at least 15 attacks off the coast of Somalia this year, the highest since 2013, according to figures from the International Maritime Organization. At least five cargo ships have been held hostage, the last of which was seized on August 20 off the coast of Yemen.