Houthis Launch Coordinated Missile, Drone and Explosive-Boat Assault on Mocha Port
The Houthis launched a coordinated assault on Yemen’s western port city of Mocha on Sunday, using missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats to target the commercial port and civilian infrastructure near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The attack caused deaths and injuries, most of them civilians. No accurate or officially consolidated casualty figures have yet been released.
Local sources said the missiles and drones were launched from multiple locations across Taiz, Hodeidah, Raymah, Ibb and Dhamar governorates.
The reported launch areas included Al-Barh in western Taiz; locations west of Bayt Al-Faqih, east of Zabid and in Jabal Ras in Hodeidah; Kusmah district in Raymah; Al-Hamzah Camp and the Central Security Camp in Al-Sayani district of Ibb; and Dhawran and Anis in Dhamar.
The use of geographically dispersed launch sites appears intended to complicate interception, stretch air defenses and sustain the assault from several directions. The precise locations, however, are based on accounts from local sources and have not been independently verified.
The missile and drone strikes were accompanied by a separate maritime attack involving explosive-laden boats targeting Mocha Port. Yemeni Coast Guard units intercepted and neutralized the boats before they reached the port, preventing another attempted strike on the facility.
The director of Mocha Port said the attack caused casualties among port employees and inflicted extensive damage on several sections of its infrastructure. He added that Houthi drones struck residential facilities used by port workers.
The strikes also hit residential apartments belonging to the Saudi Hospital in Mocha.
The National Resistance Forces said their air defenses intercepted Houthi drones attempting to strike the city’s solar power facility, which provides a critical source of electricity for Mocha.
Yemen’s Ministry of Transport condemned the assault, stressing that Mocha Port is a civilian facility of economic and maritime importance. It described the attack as a clear violation of international law and a direct threat to civilians, port employees and maritime activity in the southern Red Sea.
In Al-Khawkhah, south of Hodeidah, Governor Al-Hassan Taher survived an assassination attempt after a ballistic missile struck his residence, according to Al-Jumhuriya TV, the official media outlet of the National Resistance Forces in Mocha.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack but said they had targeted Saudi troops and weapons depots.
Assault Follows Houthi Losses on the Western Coast
The attack came one day after the Tihama Brigades and National Resistance Forces carried out drone and artillery strikes against Houthi positions on the western coast.
A previous Sheba Intelligence report documented the deaths of ten Houthi commanders and ideologically committed fighters in operations conducted by the two forces. The losses indicated an emerging battlefield approach focused on targeting field commanders and command-and-control positions.
Sheba Intelligence had also reported signs that the Houthis were testing western coast defenses while preparing to expand military operations toward areas near Bab al-Mandab. The preparations included movements involving missile and drone capabilities and reinforcements near frontline positions.
On July 19, Sheba Intelligence revealed preparations for a possible return to full-scale war across three fronts: Marib–Al-Jawf, Taiz–Bab al-Mandab and the Saudi border. The assessment specifically identified Taiz—whose territory includes Mocha and the approaches to Bab al-Mandab—as one of the principal escalation zones.
The combined use of missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats indicates an attempt to attack Mocha Port simultaneously from land and sea, overwhelm its defenses and increase military pressure on the approaches to Bab al-Mandab.
The assault therefore appears to mark a transition from testing western coast defenses and preparing launch positions to directly targeting a civilian port, energy infrastructure and residential facilities near one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.