Military operations in Yemen intensified on Monday, with the government-backed Nation Shield Forces executing a surprise strike in Lahj province. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, brigades from the First Division targeted Houthi strongholds in the Al-Mudaribah and Ras Al-Arah districts. The assault resulted in significant casualties among the rebels, who abandoned their posts in the ravines and valleys. The offensive also secured the Kahbub sector, a location close to the Bab Al-Mandab waterway, where troops established themselves on high ground.
In Taiz, the pressure on civilians grew as Houthi snipers and artillery targeted local areas. SABA news reported that an ambulance carrying an injured man was hit in the Al-Awat zone on Sunday. The impact killed the patient and his father while injuring a crew member. This incident represented the third time medical vehicles had been hit in the region during the current conflict phase. The Joint Medical Emergency Committee noted that such strikes jeopardize evacuation efforts and urged the UN and Red Cross to intervene.
Additional injuries occurred in villages across Sabr Al-Mawadim and Mishra districts, where shrapnel from artillery and gunfire wounded nine people, including women and children. In the Al-Shamayatayn district, local residents observed the arrival of roughly thirty female Houthi security guards, known as the Zainabiyat. These deployments in Al-Turbah raised fears that the group might search homes for valuables to justify further control.
Elsewhere, government troops pushed into the mountain ranges of Al-Jawf province, while airstrikes hit Houthi vehicles near Al-Hazm. In Marib, artillery exchanges continued along the northern lines. Yemen’s military stated that Operation Fajr Yemen involved nearly a thousand strikes, including drones and missiles, which damaged ninety-seven pieces of equipment. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree countered that ninety-one airstrikes hit their territory in twenty-four hours, affecting provinces from Saada to Hodeidah. The Saudi-led coalition also claimed the destruction of three ballistic missile launchers in Sanaa and Saada.