Houthi attacks on Yemen's Mokha Port kill at least 7, injure dozens in escalating Red Sea violence

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched devastating missile and drone attacks on the government-held Red Sea port city of Al-Mokha on August 9, 2026, killing at least 18 people, including six civilians, and wounding dozens. The strikes severely damaged port infrastructure and civilian areas. Simultaneously, the Houthis targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, sparking a fire. The escalation has shattered the 2022 truce, raising urgent UN warnings of a return to full-scale civil war.

Mokha port attacks

• ▪The Houthi attacks on Al-Mokha port on August 9, 2026, severely damaged port buildings, employee housing, a customs hangar, piers, commercial goods, and food supplies.
• ▪Yemeni military air defenses intercepted and destroyed 11 Houthi drones during the second wave of attacks on Al-Mokha on the evening of August 9, 2026.
• ▪Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a series of missile and drone strikes targeting the government-held Red Sea port city of Al-Mokha and its commercial port on August 9, 2026.
• ▪Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the strikes on Al-Mokha targeted Saudi military concentrations and weapons depots, while Yemeni officials stated civilian infrastructure was hit.

Saudi Aramco refinery strike

• ▪Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree stated the Jazan refinery strike was in retaliation for Saudi drone incursions into Yemen's Saada and Hajjah governorates.
• ▪The Houthis executed a drone strike on a Saudi Aramco refinery facility in Jazan, southwestern Saudi Arabia, on August 9, 2026, which triggered a fire at dawn.
• ▪The Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed that industrial firefighting teams extinguished the fire at the Jazan Aramco refinery on August 9, 2026, with no casualties reported.

Civilian casualties

• ▪The initial wave of Houthi strikes on Al-Mokha on August 9, 2026, killed three civilians and injured at least 15 others in the port area.
• ▪A second wave of Houthi attacks on Al-Mokha late on August 9, 2026, killed three additional civilians and wounded approximately 30 other people.
• ▪Houthi shelling of residential neighborhoods and displacement camps in Marib city on August 7, 2026, killed two civilians and injured 14 others.

Military personnel deaths

• ▪The first wave of Houthi attacks on Al-Mokha on August 9, 2026, killed eight Yemeni government military personnel and wounded dozens of others.
• ▪Houthi missile attacks on government troops in Marib province on August 6, 2026, killed at least 58 government soldiers.
• ▪The second wave of Houthi attacks on Al-Mokha on the evening of August 9, 2026, killed four military personnel.

Red Sea shipping threats

• ▪Al-Mokha is situated near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, making its security vital for global shipping.
• ▪The Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and have targeted Saudi-linked shipping and oil infrastructure.

Yemen civil war risk

• ▪The 2022 UN-brokered truce, which had largely halted major fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government, began to unravel in July 2026.
• ▪The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned that Yemen faces its highest risk of returning to full-scale civil war since the April 2022 truce.