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

Aug 10, 2026

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.