Yemen's Houthis reach strategic island at mouth of vital shipping lane

Yemeni government forces, meanwhile, indicated they would try to retake areas captured by the Houthi militants in their lightning offensive this week along the Red Sea coastline.

They announced they would deploy weapons and aircraft to eliminate any movement of the "terrorist" Houthi militias in strategic areas, including the road leading to the coastal city of Mocha, which the militant group captured on Thursday along with the Red Sea islands of Hanish.

Military spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nazili called on civilians to avoid using the route between the city of Taiz and Mocha and steer clear of equipment belonging to the Houthis, mountain fighters who withstood years of devastating Saudi air strikes during Yemen's civil war.

Fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government forces has intensified in recent days, with the Iran-aligned group shifting its focus to control over Yemen's long coastline instead of just the north and the country's most populous areas.