The Houthi attack on the fronts of the West Coast, southern Hodeidah, and western Taiz began to rebound against the group on the third day of the widespread ground escalation, with the Yemeni government forces moving to the counterattack and achieving field progress in more than one axis, coinciding with military aircraft and drones entering the battle and targeting Houthi sites, reinforcements, and supply lines.
The Yemeni armed forces achieved progress on the Al-Jarahi, Haifan, and Jabal Habashi fronts, and took control of sites and hills of field importance. They also thwarted infiltration attempts and other attacks, at a time when the naval forces announced the destruction of two booby-trapped boats south of Al-Khawkhah on the Red Sea.
This transformation comes after a massive Houthi attack during which the group attempted to make breakthroughs in the areas south of Hodeidah and west of Taiz, amid information about large human and material losses among its ranks.
The repercussions of the battles reveal a worsening human crisis within the group, as medical sources in Sanaa say that hospitals, morgues and intensive care rooms are facing unprecedented pressure, with the Houthis stressing secrecy about the numbers of dead and wounded.
At the same time, the group is expanding recruitment operations in schools and luring high school students through events and training courses, in an attempt to compensate for the human bleeding, while government forces seek to exploit the counter-attack to protect Taiz and its corridor towards Mokha and secure the road to Bab al-Mandab.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned from an informed source that Hezbollah preferred to give up the Ali Al-Taher site in the south to the Israeli army without any political compensation, instead of handing it over to the Lebanese army, on the basis that this would allow it to keep its weapons north of the Litani River and cling to it under the pretext of fighting the occupation, according to the same source.
The source pointed out that “Iran’s threat to intervene in support of Hezbollah remained a dead letter,” noting that “Tehran gave the green light to the party to evacuate Ali Al-Taher.”
While the party did not issue any comment about the fall of the hills to the Israelis, it issued a statement in which it attacked the Lebanese government, holding it responsible for the support wars, criticizing its “wrong choices and its condescending and surrendering approach.” He believed that this government policy only led to “the perpetuation of the occupation and the continuation of the enemy’s aggression.”
Indications emerged in Baghdad yesterday that the negotiations being conducted by a tripartite committee formed by the Shiite “coordinating framework” to negotiate with factions refusing to hand over their weapons to the government have reached a dead end. This comes with the start of the countdown to the deadline of September 30, the date set for the final US withdrawal from Iraq. According to what was expressed by the Al-Nujaba movement, as well as the statements of both former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri, there is no final or settled date for handing over, restricting, removing or freezing weapons located outside the framework of the state.
The head of the political council of Al-Nujaba, Ali Al-Asadi, announced on Friday the movement’s adherence to its right not to infringe on what he called “the sanctity of the resistance weapon” in the face of regional dangers and threats, he said.
