Houthi attacks on Bab el-Mandeb raise fresh threat to global shipping

Cairo,UPDATED: Aug 7, 2026 19:32 IST

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks this week, deepening tensions with Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and raising fears of a wider regional conflict. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and troops, and also targeted Saudi tankers moving from Red Sea ports through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the Gulf of Aden.

The latest violence has also increased concern over disruption to a key shipping route. Though less significant than the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb has carried around 12 per cent of world trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, linking Europe and Asia through Egypt's Suez Canal. Shipping data published this week by analytics firm Kpler showed fewer tankers have passed through the strait since the attacks.

The escalation has built over weeks. The Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi-linked ships leaving the strait, saying it was in retaliation for the yearslong Saudi siege on Yemen and recent attacks on the Houthi-controlled capital. Yemen researcher Afrah Nasser said the recent moves reflected how Iran "is scaling up pressure on the United States in Yemen through its close ally". In an analysis for the nonprofit DAWN on Friday, she wrote: "The escalation is directly connected to regional developments."

Among the latest incidents was a Houthi attack in north-eastern Yemen on Friday morning. On Thursday, another attack injured 11 civilians, including a four-year-old child, according to the Saudi military. Other attacks on Saudi-backed military camps in eastern Yemen killed at least 17 soldiers, according to SABA news agency, which is affiliated with Yemen's internationally recognised government. Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said on X on Friday that the group would continue targeting any Saudi buildups in an effort to lift the kingdom's blockade on Yemen.

Experts say even sporadic attacks could severely disrupt movement through Bab el-Mandeb by increasing security risks and insurance costs. Iran has shown in the Strait of Hormuz that repeated attacks on ships can effectively shut a critical waterway. Analysts have warned that if ships begin avoiding Bab el-Mandeb as well, two of the world's most important maritime routes would be under strain, adding to pressure on commercial shipping and global oil supplies. Since the start of the Iran war, Bab el-Mandeb has acted as a pressure release valve, with more tankers using it while the Strait of Hormuz has been under threat.

Three Houthi officials told The Associated Press in July that the group had been planning for months how to disrupt shipping in the strait. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The Houthis do not control the stretch of Yemen's coastline along Bab el-Mandeb, but they hold territory less than 100 kilometres away. Beyond Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz, options for exporting Gulf oil and gas are limited, including pipelines across the Arabian Peninsula, routes through the Suez Canal, or the longer and costlier journey around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. Saudi Arabia then led an international coalition against the rebels and imposed an air and sea blockade on Houthi-held areas, though that had eased in recent years. The Houthis say their effort to close Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi traffic is meant to break the coalition's blockade. Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the Crisis Group, said the move also serves Iran at a time when the US has resumed daily airstrikes. "From Iran's perspective, opening additional pressure points across the region gives it more leverage," he told the AP last month. "The Houthis provide Tehran with influence over one of the world's most important maritime choke-points."

The latest Houthi attacks have therefore added to the risks around Yemen's war, regional tensions and global shipping, with the Bab el-Mandeb Strait again emerging as a major flashpoint.

With PTI Inputs

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