The Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council announces the start of military operations to reclaim the lands

Rashad Al-Alimi, head of the Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, announced today, Sunday (October 4, 2026), “the start of military operations to restore the remainder of the Republic’s lands, and extend the authority of the state and its institutions over the entire national territory.”

He pointed out that he "issued his instructions to the armed and security forces and all military formations to begin implementing their assigned tasks, in accordance with the approved plans."

He said in a speech broadcast on television, "The decision to begin operations came after the state gave peace all the time and opportunities it deserved, and he accused the Houthis of responding to calm efforts 'with more mobilization and escalation'."

For his part, Majid Al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the armed forces, confirmed in a statement, “This fateful battle aims to restore all the state’s lands, extend full national sovereignty, and end all manifestations of the brutal coup in the areas of our country that are forcefully under the control of the Houthi militia, which harmed the single social fabric, violated established tribal customs, and its damage extended beyond Yemen to its regional and international surroundings.”

Fierce confrontations and news of Houthi advances

The announcement represents a new escalation in the Yemeni conflict, after the Houthis, supported by Iran, launched a rapid attack last month and took control of large areas of the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait region, the vital corridor for the movement of shipping and oil tankers.

Regional and Western officials had previously informed Reuters that Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies intended to launch an attack on the Houthis, in which Saudi Arabia would assume command of air operations while Yemeni forces were fighting on the ground.

The announcement came hours after the Houthis cut off a vital supply road linking Taiz to Aden, where the Riyadh-backed government is based. Three government military sources and eyewitnesses told AFP on Sunday that "the Houthis were able to cut off the Taiz-Aden road and impose a siege on Taiz after days of fighting."

This progress came after days of fierce fighting between the Houthis and government forces in and around Taiz.

For its part, Al-Masirah TV, affiliated with the Houthi group, said that "military patrols of the Saudi-backed forces (government forces) withdrew from Al-Turbah towards the Al-Saha, Hazzaz and Zurayqa roads," and described this as coming amid "a decline and collapse in the ranks of those forces."

According to sources from both sides, more than 70 people were killed in clashes between government forces and the Houthis inside and adjacent to Taiz in southwest Yemen during the past 24 hours.

In other areas of Yemen, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported Saudi strikes in Al-Jawf and Saada governorates in the north of the country, noting that at least two people were injured.

The Houthis announced earlier today, for the second day in a row, that they were targeting the Aramco oil company in Saudi Arabia. The company and the Saudi authorities did not comment on this until the moment this news was published.

Nour News website quoted the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, today, Sunday (October 4, 2026), as saying that the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened unless it fulfills the seven Iranian conditions contained in the interim agreement concluded with the United States in June, days after Tehran received Washington’s response to its diplomatic proposal.

Qalibaf said, "The Americans, who say something different in the media, recently put forward proposals through an intermediary. But they must realize that the stage of procrastination and imposing unilateral demands is over." He added, "The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met."

In separate statements on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in statements he made to ambassadors and diplomats in Tehran that the Islamic Republic clearly explained its conditions for opening the strait and that they are linked to obligations that the United States must accept. He renewed Tehran's offer to open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if it is accepted, stressing that Iran is "ready to respond" if the United States chooses military action.

The Iranian minister's statements come at a time when diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement of the regional conflict are stalled.

In addition, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority reported on Sunday that a tanker was hit by an “unidentified projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz. The authority said in an initial statement that the ship “was hit by an unknown projectile, which caused damage to the engine room.” She explained that the crew members were safe, without providing any other details, especially regarding the date of the accident or the flag that the ship was flying, or whether it was an oil or liquefied natural gas tanker.

American discussions

Donald Trump rejected this proposal, but kept the door open to continuing indirect negotiations, without ruling out the resumption of strikes on Iran later. Meanwhile, the American news website Axios, citing three American officials, reported that the most prominent members of US President Donald Trump’s government met on Friday at Camp David to discuss the next steps towards Iran and the situation in Yemen.

At the same time, Washington escalated its economic war on Tehran, imposing new sanctions on the Iranian aviation sector. At the same time, relative calm has been recorded on the ground in recent weeks, as the United States has not launched strikes on Iran since September 1, despite the continued targeting of ships regularly in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Yemeni government army announced today, Saturday (October 3, 2025), that it had achieved field progress on the Sami front in Taiz Governorate, southeast of the country, following violent clashes with the Houthis.

The Armed Forces Media Center said that government forces, supported by popular resistance and military aviation, "were able to control Fort Sami and its surrounding areas, following battles that resulted in heavy losses among the Houthis in lives and equipment."

He added that government forces responded to a large-scale attack launched by the Houthis on Mount Han and other sites on the western front of the city of Taiz, accompanied by intense bombardment, noting that "the attack resulted in deaths, injuries, and prisoners of war among the attackers, and pushed the rest of the elements to retreat."

Meanwhile, the center said that battles were taking place between government forces and the Houthis on the fronts of the Al-Shamaytain, Al-Maafer and Jabal Habashi districts, in conjunction with the continued pursuit of the group’s members on the Sama front. The center did not provide a specific tally of human losses among the Houthis, but it spoke of dozens of bodies remaining in mountainous and coastal areas for days, without the Houthi group issuing any comment on that.

These developments come with the continued military escalation and violent confrontations between government forces and the Houthis on a number of fronts in Taiz Governorate, since the beginning of last September.

The Yemeni government army announced today, Saturday (October 3, 2026), an attack on “vital military targets” in the capital, Sanaa, confirming its ability to carry out “strategic attacks against the Houthis.”

Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said that the Armed Forces "carried out an attack on legitimate vital military targets in Sanaa." Al-Nuzaili stressed "the ability of the armed forces to carry out strategic attacks against the Houthis," without giving further details about the sites that were targeted.

On the other hand, Anis Al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in the Houthi government (which is not internationally recognized), said that air strikes targeted sites near Al-Sabeen Maternity and Childhood Hospital, south of Sanaa, “which led to damage to the hospital building, its internal departments, and medical equipment, in addition to injuries and a state of panic among patients and arrivals.”

Al-Asbahi added, "Targeting hospitals and health facilities is a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws, and reveals the Saudi aggression's insistence on depriving the Yemeni people of their most basic rights to obtain health care."

Violent explosions rocked Sana'a earlier today, and eyewitnesses told the German News Agency (DPA) that air strikes targeted sites in Jabal al-Nahdain and Jabal Attan, south of Sana'a, in addition to the al-Hafa camp, east of Sana'a, while columns of smoke were seen rising from the targeted sites.

These developments come with the continued military escalation and violent confrontations between government army forces and the Houthis, on the fronts of Taiz Governorate, southwest of the country.

The official spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, concerned with supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, announced in a tweet on his account on the X platform today, “the interception and destruction of three ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait.”

For its part, the Saudi Civil Defense announced that a projectile fired by the Houthis had fallen on a school in the Saudi city of Najran, bordering Yemen. The Saudi Civil Defense published pictures on the X platform that it said showed “an enemy projectile falling on a school in the city of Najran, resulting in material damage,” adding that it was launched by the Houthis.

Officials: Saudi Arabia is planning an attack on the Houthis

In a related context, regional and Western officials informed Reuters that Saudi Arabia is planning to launch an attack on the Houthis allied with Iran, as options are being considered, including an operation on the coast to secure the shipping corridor in the Red Sea, or launching an attack on multiple fronts.

Six people familiar with the preparations for the operation, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks, said that the Yemeni forces supervised by Riyadh will lead the operation on the ground, with support from Saudi air strikes.

These people, who requested anonymity so they could discuss security issues, said that Saudi Arabia’s allies are not expected to play a direct role in combat operations at a time when the United States is already providing intelligence information to support Riyadh’s operations in Yemen, and some regional and European countries are providing mainly defensive military assistance to the Kingdom.

The people familiar with the plans, including Gulf and Yemeni officials and Western diplomats, said that one of the main goals of the planned Saudi attack, which was not previously reported, was to halt the rapid gains made by the Houthis last month when they advanced up the coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Gulf and Yemeni officials said that the Saudis are studying two possible attack options: either a limited-scale attack on the area surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, or another, broader attack that also includes simultaneous attacks on multiple fronts across Yemen, in the governorates of Al-Bayda, Ma’rib, Taiz, and Al-Jawf.

All officials said that more than 100,000 Yemeni soldiers could be mobilized in the attack, depending on its size.

Spokesmen for the Saudi and Yemeni governments, the Houthi movement, and the US military have not yet responded to Reuters' requests for comment regarding the Saudi plans.

Advisor to the Emirati President, Anwar Gargash, on Friday (November 2, 2026), considered the Flydubai plane incident, which was heading to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, a “dangerous terrorist act.”

This comes within the framework of what he published on the X website, praising the courage of the Indian pilot, who was attacked by his co-pilot.

Gargash wrote, “Apart from easily reducing what happened or adopting and promoting conspiracy theories, vigilance and precaution remain necessary in the face of the dangers of extremism and terrorism.” This is the first statement by an Emirati official to describe the incident as a "terrorist act."

None of the results of the ongoing investigations at more than one level were officially issued, while the judiciary in the Emirates said on Thursday that it had begun investigating the incident in order to “verify the extent of its connection to any terrorist activity or purpose or the existence of prior planning or direction for it.”

After that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the plane's co-pilot "underwent a process of extremist Islamic ideological indoctrination," adding that "the attacker shouted to the crew members, 'Kill me, kill me,'" which "clearly shows that he was a suicide bomber." The exact nationality of the co-pilot is not known amid conflicting media reports in this regard.

From the hospital where he is receiving treatment in Abu Dhabi, Smit Machar, the captain of the Flydubai flight who was suspected of being stabbed by his co-pilot during a flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he acted out of protection for the passengers of the plane that made an emergency landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk.

The Indian Prime Minister posted a clip on social media platforms of a video call he made with Machar, who appeared to be lying in a hospital bed, his head wrapped in a bandage and his nose connected to an oxygen tube.

"I was trying to save my life, but I knew I couldn't let all these (passengers) die," Machar said.

Machar, who has 17 years of aviation experience, 11 of which as a pilot, described the moment he realized the plane was falling while he was injured on the ground, and his efforts to avoid disaster.

He said, "I suffered a number of injuries, which made me collapse. Then, I felt the plane falling. I knew that this was the last attempt, and that the (cockpit) door was close to me." He pointed out that until that moment, "I was still being beaten, but I opened the door and everyone entered."

High praise for the pilot

The Flydubai Boeing 737 plane was transporting 174 passengers on a flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

According to the passengers' account, the co-pilot stabbed him with the aim of shooting down the plane, but the pilot was able to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and control the attacker.

The Indian Prime Minister strongly praised the pilot, and Modi said that his compatriot's action helped save hundreds of lives and avert a "major tragedy."

Emirati Presidential Advisor Anwar Gargash also praised the courage of the Flydubai pilot, and wrote in a post on the